


At What Price

by gottahaveharmonfreak



Category: NCIS
Genre: F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-08-08
Updated: 2013-08-31
Packaged: 2017-12-22 20:43:34
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 24
Words: 71,996
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/917822
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gottahaveharmonfreak/pseuds/gottahaveharmonfreak
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tim McGee is accused of being someone other than who he says he is. Who is the accuser and why? While the facts are investigated, poked and prodded, a 20 year old cold case surfaces and there are a few surprises along the way.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. 1

**Author's Note:**

> Setting: Set mid-season 6.
> 
> A/N : This is set in mid-season 6, however there are out of sequence references from seasons 7-9. Let's just say I needed certain conditions to exist so chopped up the canon timeline. Also, to avoid casting aspersions on any of our fine American cities, I made up the name "Bayopolis".
> 
> Disclaimer 1: I do not own NCIS and am definitely not making any money with this story.
> 
> Disclaimer 2: Any appearance to any other author's work is not intentional and is probably influenced by them being one of my favorite authors. When you read a story often enough, bits and pieces stick with you. I've asked permission and credited the two I knew I was borrowing from.

Tim picked his case report up off the printer and handed it to Gibbs who smirked and graciously gave him a rare "Good work McGee!" As McGee turned to cross the aisle to his desk, his attention was caught by the two FBI agents emerging from the elevator. Agents Fornell and Sacks were familiar figures and usually meant trouble for Gibbs' team. Gibbs, noticing Tim still standing in the aisle, turned to see what had his eye.

"Tobias, what case of yours do you need us to solve today?" Gibbs growled.

"Good afternoon to you too, Jethro. We just need to talk with McGee – privately." Tobias retorted.

Gibbs raised an eyebrow at McGee who shrugged his shoulders.

"Ok, Fornell, I'm coming too. You can have 15 minutes, unless we get a call out. DiNozzo, David, finish those reports, then grab a cold case from the stack," Gibbs said, continuing, "Tim, Fornell, Sacks, to the conference room."

As they walked out of the bullpen, Gibbs, in the back of the pack, looked at Tony and tilted his head slightly. Tony gave a brief nod and as the group disappeared down the hallway, he called Director Vance to let him know what was going on.

As the four of them entered the conference room, Tim turned to Fornell and asked, "What's this about?"

"Sit down, McGee, we have some questions for you." replied Fornell.

McGee sat, facing the door, with Gibbs to the left of him, Fornell at one end and Sacks across the table. Sacks took a file from his briefcase while Fornell asked Tim:

"Do you know Svetlana Stacevyko?

"No, I don't know anyone by that name."

Sacks opened the file folder and slid a 5X7 photo across to McGee.

"What about her?" asked Fornell.

McGee's normally pale face went as white as the edging of the photograph and he blinked his eyes several times.

"That's my stepmother." he replied.

"So what name do you know her by?"

"Did know her by, I haven't had any contact with her since she abandoned us in 1986. When she was first hired by my father as our housekeeper/nanny, we called her Natalie. Later my father told us to call her 'Mother'."

"Last name?" questioned Fornell.

"No idea. I think I was 5 years old at the time and my brother 4; I doubt my father thought her last name was important for us to know."

Off to his left, Gibbs' right eyebrow climbed to the sky in shocked anger at the mention of the word "abandoned" and his eyes gave away his further surprise when Tim mentioned his brother.

"Her real name is Svetlana Stacevyko and she has an interesting story to tell. Before we get into that, why don't you tell us your background, Agent McGee?" demanded Fornell.

McGee turned to Gibbs, silently sitting beside him. Tim could tell from the look on his boss's face that he had questions for him already, so he answered what he knew would be the first one Gibbs would want to know once he started telling his life story.

"Boss, I've always wondered if you knew any of this. The names, dates and facts are in my personnel file, I put it all in there. You've never said anything, beyond mentioning my degrees, but I know better than to assume you've read my whole file. There was never any compelling reason for me to bring it up with you. By the time I felt ready to ask you on general principles, the team had been split up, and I was in Cybercrimes; didn't work for you anymore. Both Directors Morrow and Vance know everything; I told Morrow when I was first hired, when I was assigned to Norfolk. He told me not to worry about it. I didn't know whether he'd passed the information along to Director Shepard and with her death, I thought I'd better let Director Vance know." Tim took a breath and sighed internally with relief as he received a visual acknowledgement from his boss and a slight tip of the head that also told him Vance had been alerted.

He turned back to Agent Fornell, saying, "Before I start this, I want an attorney present."

Fornell said, with a grin that was more grimace, "This is just a friendly conversation, McGee, why would you want an attorney?"

"Because you've had at least 2 'friendly conversations' with my colleagues in the past and each has turned into you accusing them, wrongfully but accusing nonetheless, of murder and treason. It may not be you pulling the strings on this one, Agent Fornell; I understand that. I've done nothing wrong, I'll share what information I have, but will not go beyond this point without legal representation."

Out of the corner of his eye, Tim saw Gibbs' acceptance of his point and heard his boss's cell phone buzz. Gibbs answered, speaking quickly and quietly. Disconnecting the call, he told them that Vance had contacted an attorney who would be on site within minutes. Rising, he motioned Tim to get up with him, then announced that the two of them were going for coffee, would be back in 15. Growling a bit, Fornell let them pass out of the room, after making sure Gibbs agreed to stretch the meeting's original 15 minutes.

Line Break

As they walked to the coffee shop, Tim started thinking about the family history he was going to have to share. It was not a pleasant one and he wasn't sure he would be allowed to stop where he needed. Further, his co-workers already knew something was up. Tony in particular would not stop harassing Tim to get whatever information he could. Tim sighed. He was going to have to tell them all.

Gibbs looked at him, "Big sigh, Tim. Want to tell me what that's about?"

Tim sighed again, "Boss, I'm sorry, I just…it's just that this is my life, my private life, it's pretty painful and I've never wanted anyone to know, especially DiNozzo. He makes my life hell on an ordinary….ahhh, never mind."

"Because he would tease you about it? And I know he made your life hell when you were green, McGee, but that should not still be happening."

"Trust me, there's nothing in this that is funny or "tease worthy" in any way, shape or form. And yes, it is still happening, if he's not pulling pranks on me, he's breaking into my desk and going through my personal belongings. And now he's going to drive me insane wanting to know what's up. But…I think I'd rather take the risk of him knowing than have to deal with whatever Fornell is up to and DiNozzo's harassment."

"I'll have a talk with DiNozzo – about this information – and what you've told me. I have an idea that we can discuss later."

"I appreciate that, Boss. Then can we have the team, Ducky and Jimmy in with us? I only want to go through this once!"

"Abby needs to be told when she returns from her conference, but yeah, I'll get the others."

They got their coffees and quietly walked back to the office. Gibbs was still angry at finding out he didn't know McGee's past, but that anger had dissipated somewhat; he knew his agent needed his support now.

In truth, he found he was angrier with himself than with his agent. The information had been available to him; it was not McGee's fault that as Team Leader he preferred to get to know his agents through experience, without prejudging them from cold flat data in a file. He had not known McGee, no, Tim, had a brother or a stepmother, much less one who had "abandoned" them in 1986. Doing the math, he figured Tim would have been 9, the unnamed brother 8 and Sarah was six years younger, so she would have been 3. The more he thought about it, the worse he felt. He didn't know much about McGee beyond his degrees from MIT and Johns Hopkins and what he saw at work. He knew he played online games, had a German Shepherd named Jethro, that Tim had dated Abby in the past, hadn't had much luck with love, Gibbs snorted to himself that he could relate to that, and wrote bestselling novels as a hobby. That was all grownup McGee, uh Tim, though. There was another curious thought: why did he so rarely call McGee by his given name?Gibbs mentally pushed those thoughts into 'later' mode and quickly contacting DiNozzo, told him to call the others into the conference room.

And with that, the two men reached the NCIS building. As they entered, Vance called Gibbs to let him know McGee's attorney had arrived and would meet them in the conference room. Vance rolled his eyes when Gibbs told him the others would be sitting in; when did Gibbs' team not do everything together! He decided he'd best sit in as well, if only to control, try to control he admitted to himself, McGee's protective "family".

Tim, Gibbs, Vance and the attorney all reached the conference room at the same time, to find DiNozzo, Ziva, Ducky and Jimmy already sitting at the table, glaring at the two FBI agents. Vance quickly introduced the attorney, Patricia Newell, to Tim. As they shook hands, she guided Tim back outside the room, closing the door behind them.

"Ok, Agent McGee, Director Vance gave me a quick summary of your childhood and what he saw and heard through the camera in the conference room. Not normally the way I work, but needs must! I know you said you're willing to cooperate, so tell me how you want to do this."

Tim gathered his thoughts. "In the past, the FBI has falsely accused two of my colleagues of crimes; I don't want this to get that far. I'm willing to share what I know and to cooperate, but I don't know what they want and I don't trust that they won't try to accuse me of something. I'm going in there and will tell them the story of my early life, but no more than that. Stop me if I am saying something incriminating – or seem as if I am heading down that path and more importantly, stop them if they start to accuse me of anything illegal. You should also know that I started keeping personal journals when I was 6 and still have them. The events they want to talk about apparently took place between 1977 and 1986; I am unwilling to go beyond that. I should be able to retain some modicum of privacy! Oh, my sister's name is Sarah, she is 6 years younger than me; we also have an adopted brother Rob, a year younger than Sarah. I adopted him when I turned 18 and became his legal guardian, but he'd lived with us since he was a toddler. His name should not come up at all since we didn't meet him until after our abandonment by our stepmother. And I don't want to talk about Bayopolis beyond arriving there; that's "off the table".

"Ok, we can do that. Let's go, shall we?"

Taking a deep breath, Tim opened the door and ushered Ms. Newell inside the room. As they sat, the attorney to the right of him, Tim introduced her to Gibbs, the FBI agents and then his team; she nodded at each and again at Vance in acknowledgment. She looked closely at the FBI agents and then, with a small smile, at Gibbs.

"All right, let's get going, thank you for waiting, although I realize you really did not have a choice. My client is willing to cooperate and share what information he knows. I will be listening for any improprieties in the questioning and of course will stop my client if needed."

Tim began to speak: "I've asked Tony, Ziva, Ducky and Palmer to join us because I only want to go through this information once. As I've previously stated, Director Vance is already aware. Now, you wanted to know about my background, Agent Fornell?"

Fornell nodded. "Probably easier if you start from the beginning and tell us everything, every detail you can remember, Agent McGee."

"Ok, I was born in Bethesda MD on Nov. 15, 1977 to a Navy lieutenant and his wife. I don't know if this matters, but I was born 9 weeks prematurely; my mother's due date was in January '78. When I was a few months old, we transferred to Puerto Rico. My brother Patrick was born there in Oct. of 1978, 11 months younger than me, and my best friend." Underneath the table, Tim felt Gibbs foot tap his own foot briefly, in support he supposed.

"I have no memories of our mother; I do know she died shortly after Patrick was born. My first memories are vague, of life in Puerto Rico, we had a nanny and housekeeper whom we loved dearly and I think we had people visiting us. When I was nearly 3, we moved to Okinawa. All I remember is crying because none of our favorite people came with us. We missed them very much.

We had different ladies come in and out but nobody stayed; then one day my father came home with a person called Natalie. She was quiet, had small eyes, looked mean and we didn't like her. My father did though, so she stayed. We were in Japan until just after my 5th birthday, and then transferred to San Diego. Before we left Japan, Natalie and my father went somewhere together one day and when they came back, my father told us we had to call Natalie "Mother" from now on, that she was now his wife. We still didn't like her but were told we had to obey her."

Fornell stopped him. "McGee, you say you remember people visiting in Puerto Rico? Any idea who, or memories of what they looked like, sounded like?"

Tim thought for a minute. "I vaguely remember a man who had a uniform like my father's but with more medals and things. And also a lady who smelled like cookies and cried whenever she'd see us. Please keep in mind I wasn't even 3 when we left there."

Tim waited for another question; none came from either FBI agent, so he continued.

"After we had been in San Diego for awhile, Natalie started getting fat. Father told us we were going to have a little sister. She sort of paid attention to us when Father was there, but when he was away, she shut herself in her room and talked on the phone a lot and in a funny sounding language. We were gone during the day as we were both in school. We had chores to do around the house and if we didn't do them as she wanted, she would slap and pinch us."

Fornell interrupted: "Did she take you out with her? Did you meet any of her friends or family? Did she talk to you? Do you know what language she was speaking? Did she have an accent? Did she speak the language at any other time? Did your father speak that language, and if so, did they converse in front of you?"

Fornell was beginning to sound like he was losing control; Tim could see he was very anxious, his face had a pinched look and Tim did not like the way he was firing questions at him. What was going on here? He turned toward Gibbs and saw the same question on his face.

"No, the only places she ever took us were to school or church on Sundays. Father told us she didn't have any family. Since she was on the phone a lot, I guess she must have had friends. I don't remember thinking about her having an accent, but until San Diego, we had only lived in places where English was not the native language so perhaps I was used to accents. And yes, as an adult, once I'd heard Gibbs and Ziva speak the same "funny" language, I realized Natalie had been speaking Russian. No, she did not talk to us except to tell us what to do; I don't remember her ever speaking to us in anything other than English. I don't know if my father spoke the language, I never heard him do so and they rarely spoke to each other in front of us."

Fornell started to ask something, paused, wrote something down, and waved him on.

"Sarah was born 2 days after my 6th birthday. Father was home for a few weeks and then left again. One of the things I haven't mentioned yet about my father is that whenever he was in port, he would make a point of picking us up from school each day. Sometimes on base, it was close and he'd walk over and back with us. Sometimes school was off base and he'd drive us. That was another way he could spend a little extra time with us and really the only times we were alone with him."

Tim paused in thought, "After the baby was born, Natalie, we only called her Mother when Father was home, took care of Sarah but she stopped taking care of anything else. I already knew how to use the microwave and how to cook a few simple things, so I made sure Patrick and I ate. We knew how to take care of ourselves, but we didn't know how to do other things so I asked the mother of a friend. And of course, she called Natalie, probably thinking it was sweet or funny that I wanted to help. Natalie… I don't know how to say this politely… Natalie went ape shit on both of us. She knocked us down, beat both of us until the neighbors, hearing our screams, called the Shore Patrol and the base paramedics. Pat and I were in the hospital for 2 days, and then our neighbor took us to her home; Sarah was already there. We stayed there until Father came home on emergency leave. Natalie's doctor diagnosed her with postpartum depression and no charges were filed. Pat and I were terrified of her after that.

I don't know what Father was told but when he came home he told us "Mother" was having a hard time, that she was sorry she'd hurt us and we were all going to pitch in and help her. He explained a little bit about postpartum depression," Tim gave a little chuckle, "Which Pat and I called postpossum depression. As he was telling us this, Natalie was behind him, glaring at us. Father was home for a long time and he hired a housekeeper to help Natalie." Tim paused. "By the time Sarah was a year old, my brother and I took almost complete care of her; Natalie couldn't be bothered. We fed her, dressed her, changed her diapers, bathed her, read her stories, played with her, as well as taking care of ourselves. Luckily, there was a daycare close to our school, so eventually Sarah was there every day. The only thing Natalie did for the family was grocery shop. The housekeeper had only stayed a few months after Father went back to sea, and then it was just us, left alone with Natalie."

Fornell again: "Did Natalie's other habits change? Was she still on the phone a lot? Did you ever hear her call anyone by name? Did people come to the house? Was she going out at night?" He looked at his notes. "What church did she take you to, was it your own church or of her choosing?"

"She was still on the phone a lot, in the mornings and evenings and always spoke in that strange language. I don't remember any names or her going out at night, not while we were in San Diego. I don't know about people coming to the house as Patrick and I were both in school and Sarah would have been too little to remember anything. No one came while we were home. As far as I know, the church was Catholic, although the priest did have a beard and everything sounded different. I thought it was because we were in the US and not in Japan, again since San Diego was my first real experience of living on the mainland US. I don't know if the church was her choosing, but I do know now that Russian Orthodox priests sometimes have beards, so maybe…" Tim sat back in his chair, exhausted. The worst part was still ahead.

Ms. Newell spoke up, "My client needs a break, at least an hour. And when we reconvene, Agent Fornell, it would be helpful – civilized even – if you would ask Special Agent McGee one question at a time rather than machine gunning them at him."

"We'll see, and no, an hour's too long. We've got too much still to cover; the break will have to be short – 10 minutes." Fornell responded.

Gibbs opened his mouth but Vance beat him to it: "30 minutes it is then, Counselor, will that do?"

Making a face, she nodded. She looked at Gibbs, who blinked, gathered everyone but Tim up and out of the room. Tim sighed and put his head in his arms down on the table.

"I still don't know what they're after. I haven't gotten to the worst parts yet."

"Don't worry, I'm watching your back legally and your friends are watching out for you in every other way."

The door popped open; Tony stuck his head in, "Hey Probie, want Chinese or pizza? Ms. Newell, you're welcome to join us."

"Just get me some won ton soup, Tony. Thanks, I don't think anything else would stay down." Tim replied.

"I'll pass, thanks anyway, Agent DiNozzo." the attorney told Tony. Once he'd closed the door again, she turned to Tim.

"They seem very interested in her habits – and what she did with you and your brother."

"Yeah, I wish I'd paid more attention to her but I tried to stay away from her as much as possible", Tim responded.

"I don't ever remember people we didn't know coming over…oh! " Tim jumped up and ran for the door,  
"Where did he go, where's Fornell?"

"Tim, wait, you can tell him when he gets back."

Tim thought, then grabbing a pencil, started writing notes. As the others came in with their lunch and beverages, he took his soup, finished with his note and ate.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Many thanks to HarmonFreak1 who beta'd this 'saga' for me, I've certainly appreciated all her suggestions, support, and great catches and most of all her patience with me when I occasionally blank out on the simplest things!

When Fornell & Sacks re-entered the room, Tim didn't wait, he started talking immediately.

"Fornell, you asked about her going places and people coming to the house…I was only thinking of people I didn't know."

"And…" Fornell prompted.

"She didn't go out while we were home, but she did get packages. The FedEx delivery was just about the time we were walking home from school, so we'd see the driver just pulling away from the house."

"How often, McGee? Every day, every week? Did you ever see the packages?"

Tim smiled a little. "I've been free writing. It's what I do when I'm working on a book and get stifled, so I decided to try it here, on paper instead of typewritten. I couldn't swear to the driver being there every day, but he was there a couple of days each week. It might say in my journals."

"Your what? You kept journals at that age?" Fornell was both excited and unbelieving.

"Yes, I did, my father punished us a few times when we hadn't done whatever she said we did, so I started writing it all down; I knew how to write by the time I started kindergarten. I had some memory loss later and wrote things down when I remembered them. I hid my notebook in a place I don't think she ever found. Even then I knew how to make a little trap so I could tell if things were disturbed."

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Gibbs give one of his smirks.

Fornell & Sacks stood. "Where are these journals, are they close by? We need to see them!"

Attorney Newell held up her hand and whispered in Tim's ear. "It's up to you, you can share voluntarily or you can make them get a warrant. Where are the journals, in your home?"

Tim whispered back, "Yes in my apartment. If they get a warrant, they'll be able to search, or rather trash my entire place. I'd rather control the situation as much as I can."

"Ok, then let's see if one of your co-workers will go with one of them."

"That works; Ziva has a key and knows where everything is, including the journals."

Ms. Newell looked up at the FBI agents. "Agent Fornell, Agent Sacks. My client is voluntarily offering the journals for your fishing expedition or whatever it is you're doing. I believe it is in Agent McGee's best interests that one of you - one only - be accompanied by one of the NCIS agents while retrieving the appropriate journals."

Agent Sacks & Fornell both exploded, spluttering about NCIS being involved when they shouldn't be and they could get a warrant. Both men were vehemently opposed to NCIS being involved; DiNozzo and David were equally opposed to the FBI going solo. Gibbs tolerated the uproar for as long as he could, then gave a loud whistle. Everyone stopped.

Ms Newell turned to Gibbs, "Thank you for breaking up that up, it was getting painful." She looked across at the FBI agents, "Gentlemen, the choice is yours. Go now with one of these fine agents," pointing to Ziva and Tony, "or wait for a warrant, which I will have to insist be limited to just the journal Tim referred to as having been written in San Diego."

Sacks looked at Fornell, who made a stink face, then nodded. "We'll take one of the NCIS agents with us."

"Good," said Ms. Newell, "Officer David has a key and knows where everything is, so she'll go with you."

"A key?" Tony's jaw dropped as he looked first at Ziva, then Tim. "Oh I guess that makes sense, so she can walk the dog when you're on your book tours, Probie."

Gibbs chimed in, "Yeah, another reason for one of us to go with you, Fornell, the dog!"

Tim and Ziva looked at each other, puzzled, and then said, in unison, to Gibbs, "Dog? What dog?"

Gibbs looked at Tony; they both looked at Tim. Tony found his voice first. "The German Shepherd? The one Abby force… uh convinced you to take. That she named Jethro?"

Someone, either Fornell or Sacks, or perhaps Vance who had slipped back into the room, snorted.

Tim cleared his throat, "Boss, you mean the dog that mauled me; that I had to shoot to stop from biting through my carotid artery and killing me, the dog that nearly destroyed my arm?" Tim pulled back his collar and pointed to the rather nasty scar, "You mean the dog that did this?"

Gibbs, chagrined at the evidence of even more ignorance about his own agent, nodded.

"That dog never saw the inside of my apartment." Tim continued, "While I was in the hospital having my blood cleansed of the drugs passed to me in the dog's saliva, Ziva wrestled him away from Abby and took him to a friend. That friend then took him to a German Shepherd rescue farm in rural Virginia."

Gibbs looked sadly at his agent and nodded again. He not only had been wrong about the dog, he had not known Tim had drugs in him from the dog or even been in the hospital. In the tense silence, Ziva turned to the FBI agents.

"Shall I drive? I know the way quite well, including the shortcuts - there and back - to avoid the afternoon traffic."

"Sure," said Sacks, "that'll be fine."

He frowned when Tony snickered, but didn't say anything.

Ziva turned to Tim with a smile. "Hall closet, top shelf?"

"Yes," he smiled back at her, "Next to ou…uh, the photo albums, on the right hand side."

Tony, overhearing this, gave them both the fisheye but said nothing, being still too embarrassed about the dog. Or the lack of dog.

Line Break

Ziva made the 30 minute drive in 15 minutes, not her personal best. Sacks struggled to extricate his tall frame from her Mini without giving into the nausea from the drive. In reality, he'd been fighting that battle the entire drive, ever since Ziva had zipped merrily out of the Navy Yard going only 3 times the posted speed limit.

Finally out of the car, Sacks hurried to catch up with Ziva as she input the security code to access the apartment building. When they reached the apartment, Sacks noticed that there seemed to be only one key that looked like a house key on Ziva's key chain. Grinning to himself at knowing something DiNozzo apparently did not, the FBI agent followed Ziva in.

She led him to the hall closet and pointed out the box that contained the journals. With his height, it was easy to pluck the box down. Ziva asked him to put in on the table, where she opened it and pulled out several notebooks with the years labeled on the front of each. Sacks frowned when he saw how many were still in the box.

Ziva noticed the frown and said "Tim has volunteered to share his childhood journals with you. Why would you want his later ones?"

Sacks realized that was not a thought he wanted to share and took the offered journals. Back down to the car, Sacks offering to drive, Ziva laughing in denial and they zipped back onto the freeway.

Line Break

While David & Sacks were retrieving his journals, Tim returned to his free writing notes.

"Fornell, you know about FedEx and the frequent deliveries. Do you care about the packages that were delivered or about the driver? I have notes here."

"Yes, of course McGee, tell me about both!"

"The packages, I remember they were all small square boxes, too small for a book for instance, if I could see some samples of their standard box…if that matters."

"I doubt it, if they were routinely small, then the exact measurement probably doesn't matter. Did you ever get a glimpse of the sender's information?"

"No! Natalie would have skinned me alive if she caught me poking around!"

Fornell sighed. "Ok, then did you ever see what was inside one?"

"No."

"Geez, McGee, what do you know?" Fornell was obviously frustrated.

Tim's turn to sigh equally frustrated. "That I survived several years with a very nasty stepmother. That you haven't told me what this is all about, what you're looking for! I've gotten some direction from your questions, but how was I to know at age 6, what some FBI agent would be fishing for 24 years later? That you keep asking me the same questions to which I have the same answers."

Next to him, he sensed rather than saw, Gibbs' half grin.

"Ok, how about the driver?"

"Only saw him in the truck, so don't know about height, not to mention, again, that I was all of 6 years old, all adults were tall to me. I remembered him because he was not blonde or tan. He had dark hair, sunglasses and pale skin. In San Diego where it's said even the mayor surfs before work! I suppose you could find our old address there and you could get a warrant and have your computer guy check with FedEx for 25 year old employment records and the routes those employees drove."

Gibbs smirked, Tony barked a surprised laugh, and Fornell growled at McGee's cheekiness. Ms. Newell looked puzzled at the 3 NCIS agents. Gibbs just shook his head with a grin.

"Well at least that's a lead, even if it is ancient history," Fornell said grudgingly.

The group took a coffee break and reconvened when Ziva & Agent Sacks arrived with Tim's journals. Each notebook was placed in an evidence bag and given a preliminary case number so they would not get lost or "misplaced".

Fornell and Sacks took a quick scan through each notebook, then decided to continue with Tim's verbal history first, read the notebooks afterwards. When Ziva offered to make copies of the books for them, with the attorney's bright smile of approval, they declined.

Tim continued, "We lived in San Diego until I was 7, then moved to Northern California, to Alameda, across the Bay from San Francisco. By that time, my father had been promoted to Commander and was Executive Officer of the Enterprise, which was – and is - a very big deal. Natalie continued the same, although it was stranger now. As the wife of a ranking officer, she now had social responsibilities and I don't know how she did with that.

As before, our father hired a housekeeper. When he was home, we would sometimes have to be 'on parade' with him and Natalie, so we had to have "dress" clothes. But Natalie was still talking on the phone. I don't remember if she got packages there, the delivery schedule may have been different. Pat and I continued to stay away from her as much as possible and also made sure Sarah was with us when we were home from school. We still took care of her; Sarah didn't even call her Mother, but stuck with Natalie just as we did, except when Father was home on leave. Sometimes Sarah was shy around Father, she didn't always remember him from leave to leave." Tim paused for a long minute.

"What, Tim, what are you remembering?" asked Fornell.

"The opening of the 1984 Olympics in LA. We were there." Tim flashed a quick grin at his teammates, "It was so cool, I saw Bill Suitor fly over us in the jet pack."

"Did anything unusual happen?" pushed Fornell.

"Yeah, I had forgotten about it. Natalie left during the opening ceremony, told Father she had a bad headache and would take a cab back to the hotel. Later, Father hauled us all out to the mezzanine section to the public phones to call her, make sure she was ok, but there was no answer in the room and the front desk clerk had not seen her come in. They had a big fight about it that night; we'd never heard them fight before."

"Ok, so she had several hours of time unaccounted for." noted Sacks.

Tim shrugged one shoulder. "That's the only unusual thing that I remember happening."

Fornell looked at Sacks and back at Tim, saying quietly, "McGee, do you want everyone here for the rest of this?"

Tim gave a grim smile, "It's back to McGee now, huh Fornell? Yeah, they've sat through this much; they may as well stay through the rest of it." He blinked, shaking his head slightly.

Ms. Newell placed her hand on his arm, "Do you want to take a break, Tim? You've done very well sharing all this personal information, still not knowing what they're looking for."

"No, Ms. Newell, thanks, I'd rather just power through this and get it over with."

At a nod from Fornell, Tim, with a deep sense of dread and wishing he had someone to hold onto, took a deep breath and started talking again.

"In the spring of 1986, my father was home on leave for a few weeks. As I mentioned before, he always took us and picked us up from school. In Alameda that year, school was off base. One sunny clear afternoon, my father's first full day home after 7 months away, he picked us up in our old station wagon. He loved that car – Natalie wouldn't drive or ride in it so it didn't get much use when Father was away.

He told us he was taking us camping, and we'd be missing a day of school, said he needed to talk with us and that we were going to pick up Sarah from a play date at a friend's house, then head out of town. We looked in the back, he had all our camping and fishing gear, he'd even stopped and filled the propane canister for the camp stove and lanterns. Pat and I usually alternated being first mate," Tim turned to Tony and Ziva, "what we call shotgun. That afternoon was Pat's turn, so I hopped in the back seat, figuring we'd switch at our usual stop on the way to the campground, a couple of hours up the road.

While he was driving, Father started telling us how proud he was of Sarah and us and how happy he was that we took such good care of each other and our little sister. Then he said something strange, he said we should always take care of Sarah and that he was sorry he had made such a big mistake. Pat asked if something was wrong." Tim paused, "Funny the things I do remember. While Father was talking, I spotted one of my Star Wars Action Figures - shut up Tony - on the floor underneath the front seat; I stretched my seat belt out so I could leave it on and still climb down into the foot well to get it.

The next thing I knew, there was a huge noise and everything went dark." Tim stopped for a second to compose himself, "…when I woke up, I was in a hospital bed."

He stopped again, now realizing that Gibbs had a hand on his shoulder, Ziva was where his attorney had been and was cradling his hand. Feeling relieved at the connections and the anchoring being provided for him, he finally continued.

"I don't know anything more about what happened, except what I was told later. As I said, I woke up in the hospital - after being in a coma for 19 days. They had not expected me to live as I had a serious head trauma and a lot of broken bones. I was pretty messed up, scared and confused. I didn't really know what happened until the hospital chaplain, Reverend Potter, came to see me, he was there when I woke up again - the same day I'd woken from the coma; told me that I had been thrown from the car when another vehicle hit our car and that my brother and father died.

I don't know why but no one came to see me. Not my stepmother, my father's CO, no friends, no one. The only names I still remembered were my brother and sister's, my father and stepmother, everything else was just gone from my head. The chaplain said he contacted Natalie after he came to see me, but she still didn't come to visit me.

Eventually I was released from the hospital and she showed up then, in a taxi with Sarah. We drove to a strange house in a different town, I had no idea where we were; she said the Navy had made her leave base housing already and this is where we were going to live for a while.

I was still recovering from the head trauma, memory loss, internal injuries and broken ribs – and had casts on both legs, so once I got where I needed to get in the house, I stayed put. Natalie was still glued to the phone and she didn't seem any different from before, it was so strange. I was scared and still confused. Natalie finally told me that another car had hit us and the propane canister had ruptured, the whole car exploded in flames. I had been thrown out through the window, that's why I lived and my brother and father died. I lived because I was trying to get the toy on the floor." His voice lowered to barely a whisper, "I missed my brother, Sarah was only a toddler, I had no one to talk to, all I felt was alone, scared and confused. And I didn't know what mistake my father had been talking about."

Tim sat still again, soaking in the support from Gibbs, Ziva and now Tony, who had moved behind him and had a hand on his back. Vaguely Tim realized that Ducky and Jimmy had disappeared after the morning break, when Carter's team caught a case with multiple bodies. He saw Gibbs look at Fornell, who shook his head and said,

"Tim, you're almost done aren't you?"

Tim looked at him and nearly spat out his next words with a raspy voice, "You KNOW this already, why are you making me tell you this, why are you tearing my life apart?"

"Because we needed to hear it from you." Fornell replied softly.

Tim took another deep breath, worked on holding onto his emotions, thought to himself that he needed to channel Gibbs' stony demeanor. "During those weeks home from the hospital, I was pretty much confined to bed. With crutches I could get to and from the bathroom. When I asked, Natalie would bring me cereal in the morning, a sandwich and maybe something later. My wonderful baby sister Sarah learned how to crawl up onto the kitchen counters and find things for us to eat.

Every couple of days a home health aide would come and bathe me, and she started making sure that I had at least one good meal each day that she was there, which meant that Sarah did too. Natalie wasn't any more help than she'd ever been. She no longer bothered hiding her calls or the different language and now was also out of the house at all hours. Sarah had her own room, but spent all her time with me.

We muddled through all that and the great day finally came, Natalie drove us, in her shiny new car, to the doctor's for my graduation to walking casts. I couldn't really bend my knees yet, stairs were an impossibility, but I could walk…like Frankenstein.

A few days later, Natalie came to me late one night and told me that she couldn't take care of us, she was sending us to her cousins so that she could get a job and get settled, then she would have the cousins return us to her. That conversation was the most she'd ever said to me and I wasn't sure if I should believe her. She did ask what I wanted to take with me, and I realized we weren't coming back, not to this house anyway. So I made sure both Sarah and I had as much as we could squeeze into our suitcases, a few toys for her, my schoolbooks, flashlights; I tried to be as prepared as I could, as I'd learned in Scouts. As many of our clothes as I could stuff in and I put my journals in, our passports, some photos of Patrick, my mother and a family photo of the three of us kids with our father.

The next day, she woke us early, drove us to the main bus station in San Francisco and bought us tickets to Bayopolis, where her cousins lived. I knew my geography, knew it was across the country. I couldn't climb the stairs into the bus, so Natalie paid somebody $20 to carry me up and to my seat. Twenty bucks to get rid of us.

We survived the bus trip, mainly because Sarah at three was adorable when she wanted to be. And she wanted…all the little snacks people had, all the nice comfy lady laps to cuddle in. We had several sandwiches, a jar of peanut butter and a spoon, but also had lots of things people gave us - or gave Sarah. Days later, we pulled into our stop and one of the passengers helped us off. I had been told to wear my San Francisco Giants baseball cap so the cousins would know us. We stood there for awhile, looking for anyone who looked like they were looking for us, but nobody approached us and my legs hurt. We went into the bus station, to the waiting room and sat down with our baggage. The cousins never came and we never saw or heard from Natalie again."

Tim stopped talking and sighed, reaching for a bottle of water. Gibbs gave him a pat on his shoulder and sat back, facing the FBI agents. He started to open his mouth but stopped when Ms. Newell smiled briefly at him and said,

"We're done, Agent Fornell. Now it's your turn to share the reason for this inquisition into what was obviously a very difficult time for Agent McGee."

Fornell looked at Sacks and then at Tim.

"Not yet. Want some time with these journals before we share." He looked at the journals, then back at Sacks, who gave him a discreet nod.

"We'll get through these by tomorrow morning. Agent McGee, report to the Hoover Building by 0900."


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> By the way, this is posted under my co-authoring profile by mistake - OOPS - and I didn't feel like taking it down and putting it all back up again. I'm writing this under my singular author profile of Gottahavemyncis! Just thought you should know, lol.

A/N: There's a Star Trek TOS reference in here, let me know if you catch it!

Chapter 3

McGee felt as if he'd gone a couple of rounds in the ring with his Director, a former boxer. That sounded like he was going to be charged with something or at least be interrogated further. Chaos reigned in the room as Tim, Gibbs and the others started making protests; Ms. Newell's best courtroom voice rang out over everyone else.

"Why the change in location, Agent Fornell? Special Agent McGee has cooperated fully, has ripped open his life for you, what more do you need to know? Is this what he gets in return, a chance for more bullying? And when will you tell us the reason for this fishing expedition?"

Director Vance, who had again slipped into the conference room, cleared his throat.

"I agree with Attorney Newell, why the change and what more do you need? Agent Fornell, I assure you, whatever you believe you still need from Special Agent McGee, it is best my agent stay here. Not only have Special Agent McGee and Special Agent Gibbs cooperated fully, so have I!"

Fornell knew Director Vance was just as much of a bulldog as Gibbs. If he continued to insist on McGee reporting to the Hoover Building, there would be a call to his boss, at the least. This meant time away from the investigation to play politics. Or he could concede now, as a favor, and avoid wasting any more time. Damn, he'd known he was going to hate this case and he was right.

"All right, in the interest of inter-agency cooperation, we'll meet here, Director Vance, Ms. Newell, Special Agent McGee. However, we will not continue with this…" Fornell swept his hand around the room, "…cast of thousands. Ms. Newell and McGee only."

Gibbs and McGee glared at the FBI Agent. Ms. Newell opened her mouth to protest but McGee got the words out first, "You haven't charged me with anything and I still don't trust you, Agent Fornell, not after my teammates' past experiences. Special Agent Gibbs will be in the room with me."

Fornell looked at the Director's very firmly set expression, sighed again and nodded. He and Sacks packed up and left the building.

After agreeing to return the next morning, Ms. Newell gave Tim her card and departed. Gibbs and McGee remained silently in the conference room; the younger man slumped in his chair with his elbows on the table, his head in his hands, physically and emotionally drained. Gibbs reached over and affectionately grasped the back of his neck.

"You did well today, Tim. Being blindsided with all this, you did a great job keeping it together. Even more, including the rest of the team. Damn proud of you."

"Thanks, Boss. But I don't understand what more they could want from me, I feel like they've already sucked all the blood out, what's left?" He looked sideways at his boss with a twist of his lips.

"Beats the hell out of me. They're definitely zeroing in on your stepmother, is there more about her?"

"Other than my hatred of her for abandoning us…no. Except…but that would be us, not the FBI."

"The accident that killed your father and brother?"

"I don't believe it was an accident and yes, that's what I meant. NIS investigated but never closed the case. It's cold, Boss, 20 years cold." Tim looked up at his boss as he spoke and saw a brief glimpse of what might have been surprise flit across Gibbs' face.

"I know, I should have asked to have it reopened, for our team to look at it. But it's been 20 years, Boss, I'm the only survivor and I don't remember anything more than what I said today. I still have big holes in my memories of life before the crash, I mean years before. I don't remember names, faces, if we have relatives, a lot of blank spots. And after the way we had to live growing up in Bayopolis, I just wanted it all behind us, that's probably really why I never told you. … It's just so personal…you'd want to solve it, close the case. It doesn't matter now, there's no way justice could be done, no way time could be reversed, Patrick and my father would still be dead and Sarah and I would still not have been loved and cherished instead of orphaned, abandoned and homeless!" Tim turned his head away from Gibbs, ashamed of his moisture-laden eyes.

Gibbs' mind was whirling with everything he'd heard today, and now, about his junior agent's life. He realized there was more, but looking at the young man, he knew Tim was done with the revelations and everything else, for now. It was time to be practical and that was something he knew how to do.

"Tim, your go bag in your car?"

Tim nodded silently.

"Ok, go get that and we'll head home. I want you to stay with me tonight, where I can be sure you'll get some sleep and be rested for tomorrow."

"Boss, that's not… " Gibbs cut him off. "You're right, it's not negotiable. Let's see if we can get a sleep aid from Ducky in case you need it, then head out."

Seeing the stubborn set of Tim's jaw, he continued, "You were coming off a weekend today, Tim, rested up, relaxed, had no idea this was gonna happen. Tomorrow's going to be a different story after wading through all this muck today."

Tim, while stubborn, was also a man of logic and knew his boss had a very good point. Gibbs called Ducky and arranged for him to join them for dinner. He felt better knowing his old friend would quietly assess Tim's emotional and physical condition after the über-stress of the day.

While he was talking with Ducky, Tim slipped out to the bullpen to thank his teammates for their support, really for having his six in this situation when they were as blindsided as Tim. At least he already knew his life history, it must have been a total shock to his team, DiNozzo anyway, to have to sit and listen to all that.

Shrugging, he decided that as much as he had dreaded them ever knowing, now he was just relieved. Well partly, there was still more, the part after arriving in Bayopolis, but that could come later, or better yet, never. He could only hope.

As he came into the bullpen, he was given a one-armed hug by DiNozzo and an all-in, nearly Abby-strength hug from Ziva. He hugged them back and then told them he was going to Gibbs' home for the night and would like them to relax and not worry about him.

When Tony walked off to the men's room, Tim quickly filled Ziva in on Gibbs' plan. She understood Gibbs' point and considered the irony that they would not be together this one night because they weren't ready to let Gibbs know that in truth, Tim had plenty of support at home. The current situation, whatever the cause, had thrown enough stress at them all, none of them needed to deal with any additional.

Line Break

Having stopped at Gibbs' favorite diner for takeout meals, the men arrived at the house in the early evening. As always, Tim was grateful to have survived his boss's driving. During the drive, Gibbs asked Tim whether he was going to call Sarah this evening and Tim realized Gibbs still did not know about his brothers, Rob and Geordie. He sighed to himself, revealing their existence would mean telling the man the rest of the story and he wasn't sure he could get through that tonight. When did his life get so complicated? Tim answered himself, when Father arrived home with Natalie.

Gibbs' bark made Tim jump in his seat, "McGee? Tim, you asleep? Are you going to call your sister or wait?"

"Sorry Boss, lost in my thoughts. I'm going to wait until after tomorrow…until it's all over with. No need to worry them."

"Them?"

"Yeah, it's a long story that I really don't want to deal with tonight, but I also have, we also have 2 brothers; one younger brother, Rob, a year younger than Sarah. I became his legal guardian when I was 18." He paused for a breath and saw Gibbs' eyes glow the iciest blue he'd ever had directed at him, then Gibbs relaxed his shoulders.

"Guess that's the rest of your story that you'll tell me someday soon, Tim. He in your file too?"

Tim nodded, knowing he was pretty much in the clear now. Gibbs could really only blame himself for not reading that dang file.

"And the other brother?"

"Geordie. He's 3 years older than I am, a Marine Lieutenant, Special Forces. Also adopted. We don't see him very often, he's deployed who knows where. That's it, the four of us."

"How'd you adopt a guy older than…never mind. You'll tell me when you're ready. Which will be soon after this gets cleared up. Whatever "this" is."

Reaching the house, they found Ducky waiting for them and he insisted that Tim sit. He wasn't allowed to help with anything and much to his chagrin, the good doctor even took his blood pressure.

"No alcohol for our young lad here, Jethro. And no caffeine or spicy foods, something light would be better."

"Good thing we didn't get that spicy pork rib combo, eh Tim?" Gibbs gave Tim a half smirk as he teased Ducky.

"Yeah Boss, or the dish with the Jalapeños!" Tim dished right back as he took his avocado spinach omelette, cottage cheese and multi-grain toast from the hot wrap. Belatedly he realized his boss was continuing to call him Tim; while he hated that it took a crisis, he relished the warm feeling of support he got from hearing his given name.

"You two! What did you get me?" After Ducky gave an approving nod to Tim's dinner choice, he tried to see what Gibbs was dishing up.

"Steak and baked potatoes for the two of us, Duck, Tim swore he didn't mind."

"Oh, well, there's a treat!"

The three men sat at the kitchen table and enjoyed their dinners and beverage of choice. As they finished, Ducky took out a small bottle of capsules and fished one out for Tim.

"Now Timothy, you need a good sleep and rest tonight. This is a fairly light sleeping aid; you should just sort of feel yourself fade right out. "

Gibbs grabbed the bottle, "Is that the blue one, Tim?"

"Yes Boss."

"Trust me, you'll sleep!"

Tim took the capsule, went to the guest room and after his nightly routine, crawled right into bed, already feeling the world fading away.

Despite his doubts, Tim slept a solid 8 hours, waking at his normal time to the heady smell of freshly brewing coffee. As he opened his eyes, his thoughts immediately started to twist and turn around the question of what fresh horror was lurking in wait for him today. Trying to ignore his trepidation and his stomach, which was quickly becoming queasy, he grabbed a quick shower, dressed and headed into the kitchen just as Gibbs put a full plate of eggs, bacon and toast on the table. With coffee. He knew he could handle the eggs and toast, but the bacon would not be a good idea for his troubled stomach.

"Boss, this is way more than I eat for breakfast!"

"Eat it, McGee, want to have plenty of protein in you today!"

Tim gave him a twisted smile, "If you insist, guess I'll have to, but going to have to skip the bacon, Boss, afraid it would be making a return visit."

Gibbs' expression softened a bit as he sat down with his own full plate.

"My father has always said breakfast is the most important meal of the day, Tim"

Tim just looked at him, giving him a thumbs-up, his mouth too full of egg & toast to reply. He was relieved to find that he could swallow past the growing lump in his throat.

Line Break

After eating, they quickly cleaned up the kitchen and headed into work. Tim thought it odd that Gibbs was driving so sedately, when the man spoke.

"Tim, I'm glad you're rested and had a good meal. Hope this thing will just be done this morning, but if it isn't, if they come at you with some cockamamie thing, don't want you to worry too much. We'll get you out and cleared. Very glad you asked for a lawyer yesterday, sure that made Fornell grind his teeth."

"So it was ok that I threw Rule 13 under the bus, Boss?"

"Oh yeah, proud of you for that!"

They reached NCIS Headquarters and the bullpen, to find Ziva and surprisingly, Tony, already there, hard at work on cold cases. A box of breakfast pastries sat on the desk and both Gibbs and Tim had a fresh hot cup of their favorite brew waiting for them.

Gibbs spoke first, "Thanks."

Tim echoed him, "Yeah, thanks guys, this is great. I think I'll pick out a pastry now and wait to eat it until after I'm done." He carefully selected a bear claw, wrapping it in a napkin on the side of his desk.

Tony eyed it, "You know Probie, I'm doing my best to be supportive, but you're just leaving that there, in the open. I can't guarantee it'll still be there when you get back to your desk!"

Tim gave him a smirky smile and turned to the cold case file he'd been working on yesterday. As he did, he had a sudden thought and looked up at his boss, his mouth opening to start forming words.

"That's a great idea, Tim. We've got a couple of hours; I'll get it from Archives. Got the case number handy?"

Tony and Ziva looked on, puzzled. Tim shook his head, "Boss, I didn't even say it!"

"Well, isn't that what you were gonna say, McGee? C'mon, get that number, time's awastin! "

A voice came from behind them, "It's not in Archives, I checked it out last night. Here…" said Vance as he handed the file for the McGee family's cold case to Gibbs. He gave Gibbs a look and the two men headed for the stairwell.

As Gibbs faced him, questions in his cool blue eyes, Vance pulled a sealed manila envelope from his jacket.

"I removed the photos of the crash, the debris and what little was left of the bodies after the explosion and fire. With the canister full of propane and the vehicle's fuel tank both involved, the heat…well, there wasn't much left, Gibbs, mostly bone fragments. It was many hours before the debris could be picked through and nobody pieced things together then as we do now. Agent McGee should not see these, ever. If this were a "normal" case, family members would not be shown the photos; we're going to follow that protocol with Tim. He shouldn't even be in the room while you're reviewing the file, Gibbs, your team should not be handling this…but I know there's no one else Tim would want to have on it, so I trust you and your team to remain professional and get this case solved."

Gibbs nodded, "While also providing Tim the support he needs. No small order, Leon." He sighed, "We'll manage; we always do." He held out his hand; Vance placed the envelope with the photos in it and Gibbs tucked it away in his jacket. Turning, they returned to the bullpen and the team.

"Agent McGee, you cannot work this case," the Director pointed out to Tim, "however, I trust you to be professional as you look at what's in here."

Gibbs scanned quickly through the file, and then looked up at his team, waiting anxiously at his desk.

"All right, easiest way to do this is spread it out in the conference room. C'mon you three, let's get going. Ziva, you keep track of time, give Tim a 30 minute warning."

Tim picked up his laptop, only to have his boss shake his head at him.

"Nothing on your machine, Tim, not even using your own login. Nothing we do can have your name on it."

Tony grabbed his laptop and the three agents followed Gibbs to the conference room. As they reviewed the file, there were a few surprises and one note in particular that made a puzzle piece fit for Tim. The original NIS agent, now retired, had noted that the crash happened just a day or two before the Aircraft Command Group moved from Alameda to the East Coast. That was a massive effort and left no one behind to check on young dependents in comas, not able to respond to anyone anyway. The agent reported his visits to the young patient, which stopped after the first few days; there was an illegible word in the file which none of them could decipher.

They found what purported to be an interview with Mrs. McGee, with the agent reporting that she had been too distraught over the deaths of her husband and stepson, and the expected death of her elder stepson, to be of much help. Gibbs, sincerely doubting the veracity of the widow's grief, snorted once and then stopped, remembering the 'elder stepson' was his youngest surrogate son, as he considered him. He hung onto the manila envelope with the photos and when DiNozzo, sifting through the file, opened his mouth to ask where they were, he caught the boss's eye and understood the need to swallow his question.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

After the necessarily quick review of the case file, Tony and Ziva split up the work. Tony would contact the retired NIS agent whose name was on the file, one Walter Richards. At that point, Ziva gave Tim his 30 minute warning and he left to meet with Atty. Newell. Once McGee departed, they outlined the rest of the tasks.

Ziva would contact the hospital where the paramedics had taken Tim and see if the autopsies were also done there. She would also contact Commander McGee's former Commanding Officer, Admiral David Crane, and interview him. Additionally, one of them would dig into what happened to the remains of the car, see if by any chance it still existed somewhere in an evidence lockup.

At that point, Gibbs, listening to his gut, told Tony and Ziva not to reveal anything to any of their interviewees or other contacts about Tim's status or whereabouts. They needed unbiased information gathering at this point. Gibbs then also left that conference room and joined Tim and his attorney in the upstairs conference room.

As they settled, the two FBI agents entered, followed by Director Vance, who closed the door after them. As they sat, Agent Fornell cleared his throat and facing McGee, said,

"Special Agent McGee, we have reviewed your journals and while they have provided more background information, they have not given us what we needed."

Fornell held his hand up to forestall McGee, Director Vance and Gibbs' almost spitting anger. Ms. Newell ignored the hand,

"What do you want, Agent Fornell? You haven't given us any idea of what you're looking for nor how my client is allegedly involved!"

Fornell sat up straight and addressed Tim and the lawyer.

"Special Agent McGee, a substantive claim has been made that you are not in fact Timothy McGee. That the real Timothy McGee died as a result of the injuries suffered in the crash that also took the lives of Cmdr. McGee and Patrick McGee. That you are a 'sleeper agent' or mole, if you will, slipped into place for use at some point in your life. Unfortunately we have found nothing to disprove these claims, nothing that you've told us, not your memories or in your journal. I've been instructed to take you into custody."

Line Break

Ziva quickly tracked down Admiral Crane, Cmdr. McGee's former CO. When she told his aide her reason for calling, that the McGee case had been reopened, the Admiral immediately agreed to conference via MTAC. As he appeared online, the Admiral told Ziva he was both surprised and pleased that the McGees' case had been reopened. Ziva's first request was for the Admiral to tell her about the Commander, what kind of officer and man he was.

"He was an excellent officer and very much respected, Officer David. I'm sure Daniel would have made Admiral if he had lived, his late father and grandfather were admirals, you know. He was a wonderful father; although the Navy life is tough on families, he just loved his boys and his baby daughter, Sarah. You know, he lost his wife, the boys' mother, shortly after Patrick, the younger son, was born. He was devastated, he was wildly in love with Lily and they only had a short time together, not nearly enough. "

"Admiral, what can you tell me about his second wife, Natalie?"

The Admiral's mouth twisted in a grimace. "That one! I never cared for her and I'll tell you what, I've never been sure Daniel wasn't tricked into that marriage, if there was even a marriage! I think he was so desperate to have another child of Lily's, he would have agreed to anything." At the look on Ziva's face, the Admiral paused. "You didn't know that Sarah was also Lily's child? When Lily's illness was diagnosed, before she started treatment she had her eggs frozen and years later Natalie was the gestational surrogate for Lily and Daniel's baby girl." He sighed. "I don't know why and I never did anything about it, but I've always wondered whether that woman was ever vetted by the Navy. My wife never liked her, thought there always something "off" about her but couldn't put her finger on it. " The Admiral stopped, cleared his throat and then continued.

"The boys, do you know what she did to the boys after Sarah was born?" At Ziva's nod, he continued, "We offered to take the kids, our two were in high school by then, my wife would have loved to help with those kids. But then the doctor diagnosed Natalie with postpartum depression, so that was that." He shook his head. "Those boys, Officer David, they were best friends, both near genius level, had already skipped I forget how many grades. Tim, the oldest, was a wonderful big brother both to Sarah and to Patrick. Even when he was a little guy he took care of Patrick. My wife told me after they died that she had always suspected the boys had had to take care of themselves and Sarah. We grieved for those lost children, Officer David, as if they were our own."

Ziva, feeling sucker punched but hiding it well, looked quizzically at the Admiral, "Lost children?"

"Dead, all three of them, along with Dan."

Recovering quickly, Ziva managed, "I beg your pardon, Admiral, English is not my first language and I sometimes misunderstand. You meant all three children were lost in death?"

"Yes."

The Admiral went on to say that it had been difficult to leave immediately after the Commander, Patrick and Sarah had died, particularly since Tim had still been alive, although comatose. And how they had mourned days later when Natalie had informed them of Tim's death.

When asked, he replied that no, they had not kept in touch with Natalie, but perhaps the Hubbards had. The Hubbards, Ziva was informed, were the family of the first Mrs. McGee,, Lily Hubbard McGee.

"Lily's younger brother, James, is a naval officer, Officer David. I've lost contact with him over the years, but I'd be happy to help contact him. I believe he is now Commander James Hubbard."

"Thank you Admiral, we'll use the agency's resources to contact him."

After asking to be kept in the loop, the Admiral and Ziva ended their conference, and she thanked the MTAC techs for their professionalism. Over the years, they'd worked closely with Tim and each had kept their emotions under control when the Admiral had spoken of the death of young Tim.

Thoughts whirling in her mind, she returned to the bullpen to put together her notes and try to calm herself. People think Tim has been dead all these years? No wonder… she shook herself a bit and got to work writing up the information from Admiral Crane.

As Ziva sat at her desk inputting her notes, Tony contacted Walter Richards, the retired NIS agent who had been the agent assigned to the case. As the older man answered the phone, Tony quickly discovered there was a hearing problem and the man was definitely not happy to be contacted by such a young and seemingly disrespectful agent. DiNozzo had been a Senior Field Agent for some years now and was quite capable of dealing with just about any kind of personality; he quietly grit his teeth and dug out his best manners, finding the ornery retiree a tad more cooperative. When the elderly former agent finally understood what Tony had been telling him, that they had reopened the McGees' cold case, information flowed forth and the SFA had a hard time getting a word in edgewise.

He flinched when the retired agent mentioned the death of the fourth victim of the crash, "The older boy, Timothy, was thrown from the car, had head injuries and died after several days in a coma." At Tony's next question, he replied, "No, there was no autopsy, the boy's injuries were already documented. No, there were no autopsies done on the other 3, really wasn't possible, there were only bone fragments left, cause of death was pretty obvious – haven't you seen the photos of the burned out pieces of the station wagon? They're in the file, what's the matter with you! Anyway, by the time the flames had been extinguished, there wasn't much left."

Tony gulped, "The other 3?"

"YES, you moron!" The older man yelled, "Cmdr. McGee, his little daughter Sarah and younger son Patrick."

As far as the cause of the crash, the retired agent stated, "We found the driver's side passenger door; it blew off in the explosion and there was paint transfer on the edge, indicating another car had hit the station wagon. There were no witnesses to the crash; the weather was clear that day, there was no fog. I went back to the crash site at the same time of day and never found that there was any glare, you know, from the sun, to affect either driver enough to cause the wreck."

He continued, "There was no construction, no reports of any obstructions on the road and very little traffic on the road. In fact, it was a back road through a largely deserted industrial park, lanes wide enough for the large semis that had driven through for years and no, the angle of the paint indicated a car rather than a truck hit them. " Richards drew a breath and said, "This was a hit and run but I've always suspected it was deliberate, not an accident. And I'll tell you something, Agent DiNozzo, my gut has always told me that woman, that so-called wife of the Commander's, had something to do with it. Do you know their marriage was a sham? I wasn't allowed to put that in the file, my boss said it was irrelevant, but I've always wondered. She somehow got McGee to agree to marry her – probably said that's the only way she'd be the surrogate host for that baby girl and then she arranged the wedding. The guy that presided over the ceremony wasn't registered anywhere, he was no preacher or justice of the peace or whatever they're called in Japan. And there was never a marriage license filed anywhere, not in Japan or in the US. She claimed they filled one out and filed it, but I never found a record of it. However, nobody questioned it. Doesn't seem like anyone ever ran a background check on her either, which is strange considering she was Russian and the Cold War hadn't ended yet, the Soviet Union was still in existence. It just smelled, Agent DiNozzo. Still, I could never find enough to charge her, not even enough circumstantial evidence, hell, not even hearsay. The whole Aircraft Command Group shipped out right after the crash and I had a devil of a time reaching any of the people I needed to speak with. We were short of experienced agents and within a few weeks, I was forced to backburner the case, where it went cold. I couldn't bring justice for that family, Agent DiNozzo and it still haunts me. I don't go as often anymore, but at least once a year, I still visit the family gravesite at Golden Gate National Cemetery."

Tony remembered the decision to keep Tim's current status out of the discussions, and forced himself not to tell this man that both Tim and Sarah were alive and well. He did make a mental note that when the case was solved, the McGee siblings might like to meet this agent. If not, he would at least be able to let the older man know the truth.

After DiNozzo hung up the phone, he sat quietly, trying to process all he'd learned. NIS believed all three children died, as well as the commander. That meant the visits to the hospital stopped, since Tim was supposedly dead. Natalie was not Sarah's mother; she had been a surrogate host, from what Agent Richards had said. So who was her biological mother and did that have anything to do with the deaths of the family? And what about the phony marriage? The Commander must have been desperate to have that baby or why would he seemingly ignore all those details? Sighing, Tony wrote his notes while it was all fresh in his mind, making a special note for Agent Richards' conjectures, and then printed them out. Case files were not yet electronic in 1986 and many older cold cases had never been converted. At some point, the case would need to be entered into the NCIS database; he saved his notes in a working file so he could migrate them to the electronic file when it was finally created.

As he sat, still trying to wrap his head around all this, Ziva returned to her desk from a quick break and they started comparing notes. Tony started off with a recap of his conversation with the retired agent.

As he mentioned that the Agent had reported that all three children had died, Ziva interrupted, "Yes, Admiral Crane said the same thing. That Patrick and Sarah had died in the crash, along with their father, and Tim several days later, from head injuries." The two agents looked at each other, both giving a shudder.

Ziva continued, "The Admiral also informed me that Sarah, Patrick and Tim have the same mother, Lily." At Tony's astounded look, Ziva nodded at him, "Yes, that is what I felt too, but he explained that Lily had her eggs preserved so her husband could have another child with her DNA."

After a brief pause while both digested the information, Tony took up the narrative, filling Ziva in on the findings from the crash and the theories and opinions of Agent Richards. After they finished comparing their findings, they re-read the file.

This time, Tony was able to decipher a word he had previously passed by in the agent's notes. It seemed to be a descriptive word about Tim, next to his name on a list of the Commander's children, and not necessarily pertaining to the crash. Now he examined it closer, digging through his desk drawer to find his magnifying glass.

He blinked at the word and then motioned for Ziva to look and verify what he thought he was seeing. She looked and raised her head, both of them stared at each other in shock. Another bombshell, they didn't know whether Tim knew this and again, if it was pertinent to the case. Privately, Ziva believed that Tim did not know. After a hushed and sometimes heated discussion, they decided they would tell Gibbs but would not do any searches on the subject unless directed to do so by their Team Leader.

As they spoke, Tony remembered another case where an agent's notes with an incorrect conclusion were wrongly attached to the case file. That speculative conclusion had somehow become fact for the Navy. It was an unconfirmed theory, written as if it were fact; one that cost a naval officer's widow and child financial and emotional deprivation for several years, until the case was reopened by Gibbs' team. 

Tony told Ziva about that case and as he talked, he remembered Kate's persistence in proving the officer innocent so that his family could receive the benefits they had been denied. As always, he felt a tug of grief when he thought of Kate.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tobias Fornell is normally my favorite recurring character on NCIS. However, he made such a great 'bad cop' for this story, I couldn't resist! Enjoy! - Gottahavemyncis

Tim was stunned, speechless, mortified, humiliated and crushed beyond belief, feeling that his life had just been ripped away from him once again. Who accused him, how was this supposed to have been accomplished, what does it mean? He struggled to understand and his fear threatened to envelop him. Even if he somehow survived the charges, was found to be innocent, would he still be a federal agent and what of his reputation, his credibility? He mentally watched his life circle the drain as chaos once again erupted around him.

As he sat in shock, his boss and the Director expressed their disbelief and displeasure with the FBI. Over the angry shouting, Ms. Newell gave a shrill whistle, and in the sudden silence, immediately started citing legal precedence. In essence, since Tim had been 'persuaded' to basically give evidence under the guise of a 'friendly conversation', without having been read his rights or told the charges, she believed any case the FBI thought they had was already dead, finished, a moot point.

Gibbs, catching a breath, glimpsed the utter despair on Tim's face and immediately lost all interest in anything but giving Tim the support he needed. He gathered his youngest close and whispered words of support and belief to him; held him steady as Tim struggled mentally, physically and emotionally to understand what had just happened. Vance, also witnessing Tim's struggle, quickly called Ducky and his medical bag to the room.

The room quieted as Ducky entered; the enem… FBI agents finally noticing the plight of their "suspect". When Ducky found the young man in a state of serious emotional turmoil, he decided to give him a sedative. In a firm voice, the doctor told the others to leave the room. The FBI agents refused but when the Director of the Agency ordered them to either leave the room or face a forced and physical expulsion from the building, the two agents reluctantly removed themselves, knowing the man was not likely to be a flight risk in his condition. Ms. Newell, after a quick word with Gibbs, followed the FBI agents and the Director to Vance's office, leaving Gibbs and Ducky alone with Tim.

Tim's devastation began to blur a bit around the edges as reality gave way to the sedative. Gibbs continued to hold him, Tim's head tucked into his shoulder. At some point Tim recognized a feeling he couldn't quite name. As the sedative relaxed him further, he was finally able to put a name to what he felt with Gibbs' strong arms around him. It was a feeling he hadn't had since he was a very small child, since before Sarah, before Japan and the hated Natalie. Even with what had just happened, he recognized this. He was safe, finally safe.

Line Break

Director Vance sat behind his desk and listened to Tim's very capable attorney state her points against the FBI's conclusions and desire to take his agent into custody. He held back, but had already formulated a Plan B.

He figured if the attorney somehow failed, which did not seem likely, he would contact his FBI counterpart and they'd work out some sort of deal so that Agent McGee could remain in NCIS custody and not in lockup. The man was not a flight risk, although Vance had a fleeting thought that flight might not be such a bad idea. He shook off that errant thought, really, what was wrong with him, and returned his attention to Ms. Newell. Having made her point about the FBI neglecting to read Tim his rights before questioning him, having lied to Tim, Gibbs and the Director of an Armed Federal Agency, withholding information from Tim while he voluntarily gave them his life history, she found Agent Fornell now rather more willing to concede those points.

When the attorney demanded to know who had made the claim against Timothy McGee and what evidence they had found that made the claim seem substantive, both agents cited National Security and zipped their lips. Leon Vance had been in this town long enough now to know when he needed to pull in the big guns.

Declaring a 30 minute break, he shooed the others out the door, gave his executive assistant the signal for no interruptions, locked his door and first called his FBI counterpart. That director, even though they had worked together peaceably in the past, was suddenly not available nor did his executive assistant have any idea when he would be available. Not surprised but smelling something rotten, Vance felt he had gone through all the outside channels he intended to and made a second call, this time to his own boss.

By some miracle, the SECNAV was in and willing to speak with him. Leon quickly filled him in, including the last bit with the 'National Security' claim by Fornell; mentioning in passing his abortive attempt to contact the FBI Director. The Secretary of the Navy was very accustomed to DC politics. He also was very aware of Agent McGee's worth to NCIS, hell to the US government, not to mention the measure of the man.

On occasion, Tim had come to the rescue of more than one government agency infected with hackers or facing an insurmountable electronic boondoggle. He was not about to lose him to some witless numbskull with too vivid an imagination, and that was just talking about the FBI! Promising to speak to The Powers That Be as soon as possible, SecNav dropped off the call. Taking a deep breath, Vance decided to see how his agent was faring in all this.

Line Break

Vance visited McGee, Gibbs & Ducky, still in the conference room. Tim had his head down on the table, sound asleep. Vance told the others he'd briefed the SecNav and that Ms. Newell had a well-deserved reputation as a defensive pit bull. All was not yet lost. While he was in the conference room, Tony called Gibbs to ask if he would join them in the bullpen for a sitrep; he didn't think Tim needed to hear everything they'd found. Too many things that could be irrelevant, they were still sifting through everything. Gibbs agreed, but stopped on his way out of the room and asked Ducky to do a psych profile of the stepmother. He already had his suspicions. Ducky agreed he would begin after Gibbs returned from the bullpen.

While they waited for Gibbs, Ziva began the search for Commander James Hubbard, younger brother of Lily McGee, uncle to her children. They needed answers.

Gibbs, on his way to the bullpen, detoured for some much needed coffee and time to think. Now that he knew what the situation was all about, he was not overly worried. Pissed beyond measure that his agent's life had been ruthlessly disrupted, yeah, and that such a private soul had more or less been forced to share publicly some very painful memories, oh yeah, but not concerned about the ultimate outcome.

Yes, this would take a bit of work, but if they could keep Tim out of the hands of the FBI, they would find the physical evidence they needed to prove Tim was really Tim, he was sure of it. He was equally sure that Fornell's instructions to bring Tim in were premature, hell, he could tell that by the sound of Tobias' voice!

He would be willing to bet they did not have any conclusive or physical evidence, some asshole higher up was impatient and wanted to move too fast. He wondered if Tim was being setup to be the fall guy in some irrational scheme. More than likely, the accuser was stalling for time hoping to divert suspicion by accusing Tim of something that could seriously impact US security.

Or, and this thought momentarily cheered him, Tobias had played this the way he had so the case would fail. Gibbs immediately realized the hole in that theory, Fornell would not compromise his career. In any event, now that the words had been said, they needed to be irrefutably proven false to protect Tim's reputation and career as a federal agent. He wondered again who the accuser was…there's something in there that required further thought; he couldn't quite get at it, so put it on a mental back burner and moved on.

If they could find a relative of either Mother or Father McGee, DNA could be taken and compared. He remembered that when Kelly was born, her footprint was taken as well as Shannon's thumbprint and wondered if that practice was in place when Tim was born a few years prior. Perhaps there was something…thinking of Tim and Patrick's stay in the hospital after Natalie beat them, he wondered how long hospitals hold onto blood samples. He shook his head, that was much too far in the past. However, even a strand of hair might help. An old toy might have fingerprints, but then he realized anything Tim might have had was left behind and likely tossed when the stepmother sent them away.

Coffee in hand, he entered the bullpen and greeted the other members of his team. Both looked stressed and he realized how worried they were for Tim. Tony gestured to Ziva to go first. She took the remote, brought up an old photo of Commander McGee and relayed the information given her by Admiral Crane. She included the Admiral's comments about the Commander's character and love for his first wife Lily as well as his speculative doubts about Natalie and the mystery of the McGee marriage.

Ziva looked carefully around the squad room and then quietly told Gibbs of the Admiral's sorrow for the deaths of the three children. Shocked, Gibbs carefully put his coffee down and questioned her, his voice a quiet match for hers.

"Ziva, who told the Admiral all of the children died in the wreck?"

"Gibbs, the only contact came from Natalie, the stepmother."

"Boss, that was the information I got from Agent Richards, too. That Patrick and Sarah had died with the Commander at the wreck and Timothy died days later of his injuries." Tony was trying so hard to be discreet, he was nearly whispering. However looking around they realized the squad room was almost empty as it was late.

"DiNozzo, do you know where he got that information?"

"Yeah, a representative from the hospital called him. A doctor, Dr. Potter, called him; Richards left his card with the head nurse when he'd visited Tim and the doctor used that to contact him."

Gibbs remained silent, thinking. That name sounded familiar, he'd heard it earlier, but where in all this mess…Oh!

"The hospital chaplain, Tony, the hospital chaplain who told Tim about Patrick and the Commander's deaths, his name was Potter."

"Boss, that's a pretty common name."

"Yeah, I know, but I want every name, every…everything, checked and rechecked."

Ziva offered, "Gibbs, I am going to contact the hospital to obtain the records of Tim's injuries and treatment; I will also inquire as to the employment of a chaplain and a doctor both named Potter."

"Good, Ziva, good – you two have done a great job with this, with such an old case. Tim's going to be so proud of you, hell I'm proud of what you've already done!"

Tony and Ziva looked at each other, eyes wide. Had Gibbs just complimented them?

"Boss, not until we clear him. We're not good til then."

Gibbs clapped his Senior Field Agent on the back, smirking at him.

"We'll do it, Tony, I have no doubt. Once again, we'll not only clear our teammate's name, we'll probably end up solving whatever case the Feebs think they have!"

Looking back up at the Commander's photo on the plasma, Gibbs remarked that he sees Sarah's resemblance to the man, but not Tim's. Next up was a photo of Lily McGee; it must have been taken during her final illness as she was wearing a scarf turban-style around her head, was nearly skeletal although she wore a big smile as she held a young toddler, Tim, and an infant they realized must be Patrick.

Gibbs looked closely at her and then Tony mentioned that he could see a resemblance between Lily and Tim, their eyes are the same color and shape and their face shapes are similar, even with Tim as young as he was in the photo. Tony's remark sounded a bit odd and Gibbs, glancing at him, caught his SFA exchanging relieved expressions with Ziva. At least DiNozzo's remark made Gibbs realize that he was simply seeing the resemblance to Tim, nothing more. He tucked the odd look and his own reaction away for later, no time now.

Next was Patrick's photo and as it displayed on the plasma, Ziva's computer dinged with results for the search for James Hubbard. Ziva pulled up his info, overlapping the photo of Patrick and they looked at the Hubbard family. Gibbs was happy to see there were a few family members, giving them new avenues to pursue; if Commander Hubbard's DNA was in the database, then they would match it to Tim. Gibbs smirked to himself; once again his agent's innocence would be proven and Fornell could kiss his supposed case goodbye. The FBI would be 0 for 4 in accusations against his team.

Then it was Tony's turn to report. His notes from his conversation with Agent Richards popped onto the plasma.

"Boss, Richards had a lot of suspicions and doubts about Natalie McGee or whatever her real name is, but he could never find any conclusive evidence and his boss, a Riley McCallister, forced him to move on from the case in just a few weeks; it's been cold ever since."

Ziva chimed in, "McCallister? Is he still an NCIS agent?"

Gibbs shook his head. "No, he retired and disappeared somewhere. As far as I know he's been out of contact for years now."

Tony returned to his notes on the plasma and pointed out the line in the handwritten note, with the previously indecipherable word. Gibbs squinted and Tony, knowing he was probably in for a head slap, moved in quietly with the magnifying glass. When Gibbs saw the word for what it was, both eyebrows nearly hit the top of his skull.

"Boss, we don't think McGee knows, wouldn't he have said that at some point yesterday or today?"

"Yeah, you're right, DiNozzo." Gibbs paused for a few seconds, "Ok, take that down and no word of it to Tim, either of you, got that? "

At the questioning look on Ziva's face, Gibbs continued. "If something more comes up during our investigation and if it becomes pertinent to anything in our case or the damn FBI case, we'll deal with it. And yeah, I'll tell Tim, but not now, not during this shitstorm. He's got too much to deal with already."

"Boss, you haven't said, what did the FBI want him for, anyway?"

Gibbs pinched the bridge of his nose, feeling the incipient headache. He did not want to say the words out loud, he really didn't. Not here in the bullpen. He'd rather not tell the rest of his team at all and he was momentarily very grateful that Abby was away. However, to refute this accusation, to completely prove Tim's innocence, would take the combined efforts of all of them, including Vance and Ducky, maybe even Palmer.

Realizing that he needed to check in with Ducky and Tim, and then get Tim home, Gibbs took a deep breath and called his boss. "Leon, DiNozzo and David are asking about the FBI's accusations. I'm running out of time here, I need to get Tim home and Ducky is going to run a profile for me. Can you…"

Vance intervened, "Yes Gibbs, send them up and I'll fill them in."

Gibbs quickly filled his agents in on the plan, they shut down the plasma and secured their desktop computers and locked away their papers so nothing about the case could be seen in the bullpen. Having handled that, Tony and Ziva headed up to the Director's office and Gibbs back to the conference room.


	6. Chapter 6

Vance quickly filled Agents David and DiNozzo in on the FBI's accusation against their teammate. Tony's eyes widened as he stared, speechless, at the Director. Ziva's reaction was more vocal, she made several exclamations in Hebrew; both men guessing she was either swearing or praying. Judging from her visible anger however, she was swearing in her native tongue. After recovering their wits, the two field agents were asked for an update and they gladly gave Vance the details of their findings along with the tasks they still had in front of them.

After hearing everything, Vance nodded his head, "Good work, both of you. That's some good headway you've made today, we should have this cleared up tomorrow or the following day at the latest."

"What happens to McGee now, Director?" Ziva asked, her heart pounding in fear for her boyfriend.

"He'll remain in our custody, Officer David, his attorney has seen to that. If anyone were to ask for the paperwork, he is officially in the custody of Gibbs. He's not a flight risk, Timothy McGee has never backed away from a problem or a fight in his life, I do not believe he would start now."

Ziva looked Vance in the eye and saw that he understood; that he knew the rest of Tim and Sarah's story. She nodded once.

"What is this going to do to him, Director? I mean, Probie's a strong guy, stronger than any of us in some ways, but being accused of treason, of being a mole? That's…" DiNozzo shook his head, unable to put his worry into words.

"I don't know, Agent DiNozzo. We're giving him all the support he can handle. Remember that he has a strong family though, "and Vance nodded to the two of them, "both with your team and with his sister and brother."

"Brother, sir? I thought his brother died?" DiNozzo's clearly puzzled tone alerted Vance to his verbal slip. Thinking quickly, he realized there was nothing to do but tell the truth and apologize to Tim later. He gave a quick glance to Ziva who gave him a look of unhappy agreement.

"Yes, Patrick died, however Tim and Sarah later brought a young boy into the family and adopted him as their brother."

"Oh. Huh. Probie sure likes to keep things private. We probably wouldn't know about Sarah if she hadn't been involved in that murder case."

"Many people, Agent DiNozzo, prefer to keep their work lives and their personal lives very separate and very private. It is Agent McGee's prerogative, remember."

Ziva, who was becoming increasingly uncomfortable with the direction of the conversation, decided to take the stallion by the horns, or the bull by the ears…she decided to speak up.

"Tony, we have the information we requested and we are taking up the Director's valuable time as well as time we should be continuing our investigation. Our next calls are to the West Coast, they are still open for business, yes?"

Tony snapped back into reality, "You're right Ziva." With a nod of thanks to Vance, the pair left the office and returned to the bullpen. Once the doors closed behind them, Vance gave a relieved if somewhat guilty sigh and leaned back in his desk chair.

Line Break

While DiNozzo and David climbed the stairs to the Director's office, Gibbs continued on to the conference room. There he found both his young agent and his oldest friend snoozing away the evening. Biting back a laugh, Gibbs tapped Ducky on the shoulder.

"Duck, c'mon, wake up!"

"Oh my, Jethro, how long were you gone?"

"Apparently not long enough! It's been a long day, hell it's been a long couple of days, Duck and we're not through this yet. Why don't you go on home and pick up that psych profile tomorrow."

"I don't know, Jethro, now that I've had a nap, I feel rather refreshed. But yes, I won't stay overly late and will get sufficient rest tonight, I assure you. Let me help you wake Timothy so you can get him home."

"Anything I should be aware of, Duck? He needs to eat, lightly I'm guessing and get more sleep. If he has trouble falling asleep, can he have another blue?"

"I'll give you something much milder than that, Jethro; I don't want to over-medicate the poor lad. But yes, he does need to eat since he's had nothing since breakfast. He'll need light but substantial. "

"Eggs ok again? It's either that or soup."

"Soup is fine for tonight, my friend, perhaps the eggs in the morning?" Ducky hesitated and then motioned Gibbs away from the table where Tim still lay with his head down on a small pillow that had mysteriously migrated from Abby's lab. Gibbs shook his head, recognizing it as the pillow Abby used when he'd once caught her standing on her head. It seemed Palmer might already be involved, at least in support of his friend.

"He may have nightmares tonight, Jethro, with all this going on."

"And if he does?"

"Don't wake him, but you might try that thumb on the forehead maneuver I've seen you use with Anthony. And of course if he's as distraught as he was earlier, comfort him as best you can and call me if you feel he needs medical attention."

Gibbs sighed; those words reminded him of how far apart he'd been from his youngest. He knew what haunted Tony, even Ziva and Abby and how to soothe them, but not Tim. That was changing now, today.

First calling DiNozzo with an order to bring their coats and gear to the conference room, the Team Leader and the Doctor then gently woke the young man. When Tony arrived, he saw at a glance that the boss would need help with his very groggy teammate. He started to shoulder his teammate's pack, but Ducky motioned to him and he handed it over to the ME. Then he carefully slung one of his Probie's arms over his shoulder, Gibbs doing the same with Tim's other arm. Ducky followed them down into the garage, making sure that Tim was tucked safely into Gibbs' Challenger. He returned to the building as Tony retrieved his car and followed his boss.

Ducky returned to Autopsy, realizing he had been gone the entire day and thankful no new "guests" had arrived. Taking the file Gibbs had given him with what they knew about the odious stepmother, he settled in to delve into her psyche.

Line Break

Gibbs pulled into his driveway and left Tim, asleep again, in the car while he carted their bags and coats into the house. When he stepped back out, Tony was just parking. Both men stood, looking at their friend sleeping peacefully against the window.

"No, DiNozzo, we can't leave him in there all night. It's too cold and what if he wakes up, not to mention his back is going to be killing him tomorrow for sleeping hunched over the conference room table all day. He needs to stretch out. C'mon, I'll push from inside as you pull him out. Then lean him against the car until I can get back around."

DiNozzo just nodded at his boss, waiting until the man was back in the car, leaning across into Tim's shoulder. Tony cautiously opened the car door and caught the half of McGee that was sliding towards the ground, Gibbs holding steady on his other side. With a few rather graceless maneuvers, Tony finally had Tim upright, pinned against the car. Tony bit his lip as he fought a case of the giggles, the movie "Weekend at Bernie's" suddenly popping into his mind. Gibbs moved quickly around to the passenger side of the car, glaring at his SFA for the giggles he tried so hard to suppress.

When Gibbs growled and lifted his hand, ready to administer a head smack, DiNozzo shook his head clear and once again shouldered Tim's arm, waiting to move until Gibbs had done the same. Wondering how anyone ever moved a dead body with any stealth, both men struggled with their very much alive friend up the stairs and into Gibbs' home. Stopping in the foyer to catch their breaths, Gibbs whispered, "Let's take him on upstairs. No need to sit him down here and then have to go through this again." DiNozzo nodded and they dragged their teammate upstairs, finesse be damned.

Tim was propped against Gibbs as Tony pulled the covers down on the bed, then they lowered him down. Gibbs pulled off McGee's shoes and jacket, then whispered for Tony to head down to the kitchen and find some soup for Tim and something for them to eat. Tony caught the hint and ran back downstairs, knowing his boss wanted to make Tim more comfortable.

DiNozzo was just opening the can of chicken noodle soup he'd found behind a jar of peanut butter he figured was left over from Jackson's recent visit when Gibbs padded shoeless into the kitchen.

"Ah, that's good, DiNozzo, just what he needs. Ducky said soup would be best."

"You gonna wake him up to eat it, Boss?"

"Yeah, he was starting to wake up when I came downstairs. He hasn't eaten since breakfast and he's going to need his strength. We can't keep him sedated through this whole deal."

"Boss…it's gonna be ok, right? We're going to find what we need to prove he really is Tim McGee and clear him beyond a doubt, right?"

Gibbs briefly stopped stirring the soup as he looked at Tony.

"Yeah, without a doubt, Tony. Or do you have any doubts?"

"No Boss, of course not. It's very cold war and all the stories and rumors, those were all just stories, right? All the spies and moles the Soviets supposedly slipped into the US?"

"If I were a sleeper agent, Tony, I would hope the puppet master would have done a better job of keeping track of me."

The two men spun as Tim walked barefoot into the kitchen. "Probie, I didn't…Tim interrupted with a tap on Tony's shoulder, "It's ok, man. You picked me up and carried me out of the office and into the house, up the stairs. How much more of a friend can you be?"

Tim gave a small smile to the two men. "I really am Timothy McGee and I really did live that life as a Navy brat with my brother, sister and the wicked stepmother. While I was asleep, I figured out my own defense. I realized that any puppet master, or whatever handlers of moles and sleeper agents are called, worth his or her training would have done a better job of keeping track of me and making me a more typical American boy."

"Not that I'm arguing with you, but how so, Tim?" asked Gibbs.

"It's the part that happened after we got off the bus in Bayopolis, Boss. It's a long nasty story."

"Worse than the first 9 years, Mc…Gee?"

Tim hooked his eyebrow at Tony, "What was that gonna be?"

"Uh, nothing, Tim, go ahead, tell us…"

Tim interrupted, "C'mon Tony, was it a funny one? I like the funny ones, just not the teasing or mean ones."

Tony opened his mouth to snark at his partner, then thought about all that had happened and changed his words and tone. "It was a funny one, not mean at all." Gibbs watched both his boys as they faced each other.

"Ok, it was McBernie…because when we were trying to get you out of the car you were still asleep or at least groggy and kind of a dead weight, not that you're dead weight, but..."

Tim interrupted again, "For 'Weekend at Bernie's', Tony?" He chuckled, "That's actually pretty funny…" he turned to their Boss who was watching with one eyebrow raised, "because see, Boss, these two guys drag this dead guy all over the place and try to make people think he's still alive…" he trailed off as Gibbs' lip twitched.

"Sounds pretty appropriate, Tim." Gibbs glanced at DiNozzo whose eyes seemed ready to pop out of his head. "Yeah, ok, it was funny, DiNozzo." Reaching out, he ruffled Tony's hair, doing the same to Tim. The younger men looked at each other, astonished.

"Soup ready yet, Tony? McBernie here needs to have something on his stomach."

"I'll get a bowl, Boss." Tim skittered as he grabbed a clean bowl and spoon from the dishwasher. "What are you guys gonna eat?"

"Got some frozen something…DiNozzo, look in the freezer."

Tony found some frozen meatballs in the freezer and some pasta in the same cupboard as the soup and peanut butter, along with olive oil and oddly enough, a bottle of minced garlic and freshly grated parmesan in the refrigerator. Holding these last two ingredients, he turned with a quizzical look at Gibbs. "Tobias came over awhile back, cooked a pasta dish his grandmother used to make. Guess he left those here."

Tim ignored the reference to one of his current least favorite people. He looked at the garlic and grated cheese and then reached for the garlic.

Tony slapped his hand away, "No McQueasy, when this is over I'll make you something cheesy & garlicky, but not tonight!"

Tim fake pouted, but continued to eat his soup. Gibbs made some toast and put it in front of him.

"Thanks Boss."

"You still want to tell us the rest of the story tonight, Tim, or wait til morning?"

Tim stopped as he processed his options. Vance already knew about Bayopolis, as did Ziva. He wondered if Fornell knowing would cause him to back off. He hoped so. Although the sedative had taken the edge off his emotions, he still felt he was in a huge pile of trouble and could not see any ending, without divulging this information, that would leave his career intact, or his life in any shape but bad. He also knew he'd survived a lot of very tough times in his life, somehow he would get through this. At least this time he had support.

"Probably better to wait, Boss. Fornell and Sacks should hear it too."

"You think it'll help your case, Tim?"

"Yeah I do. Short of matching my DNA to a blood relative besides Sarah, I think it's my best defense."

"We're going to get that DNA, Tim, but in the meantime, if you have something that will cause those idiots to realize how wrong they are, let's go for it."

"DNA? Boss…how, who…?" Tim stopped as he recognized the look on Gibbs' face. "Ok, you'll fill me in later." Tim turned to include Tony. "Just this, guys, for now. After Natalie shipped us off to nowhere, Sarah and I ended up in Bayopolis and spent the next 9 years there, including the years I went to Johns Hopkins. Went from there to Massachusetts, to MIT; never went back to Bayopolis."

"That where you met your brothers, Tim - Bayopolis?" Tony looked surprised at Gibbs' reference to more than one brother and both men looked at McGee.

"Yeah, met Geordie – he's my older brother, Tony – our first day there; Rob came along three weeks later."

Tony blinked as he took in the newest information, then grinned as he saw Tim's eyelids sliding shut involuntarily and laughed as a deep yawn escaped, surprising his teammate. All three men chuckled. Shaking his head, Tim finished his soup, took the sleeping aid Gibbs held out to him, swallowed it with a large gulp of water and headed back upstairs, telling them he needed to make a couple of calls.

Once back in the guest room, Tim sighed. Finally, he had some privacy. He appreciated what everyone was doing and he knew that in light of the FBI's accusation, it had all been necessary, but he craved just a few minutes to himself. Well, not entirely to himself, he thought as he picked up his phone and called Ziva.

They spent several minutes just reveling in hearing each other's voice in a private context. Tim was glad Ziva had taught him enough Hebrew so that they could have a semi-private conversation, knowing that somewhere some unlucky bastard of an FBI agent was scrambling to find an interpreter.

Yeah, he was sure his phone was bugged, it would have been the first warrant requested. He gave a cynical laugh as he reminded Ziva that the NSA was listening anyway and it was fine by him if the FBI wanted to have their own ears on his private life.

Tim made a mental note to have Ziva take a sniffer home to find any bugs there and to have Gibbs bring one here and he supposed that Tony should also scan his home. He thought about Vance, but his security team ran a sniffer twice a day home and office, so he was covered. As the two said their good nights to each other, both felt a little better for the brief connection.

Tim made another mental note to let Gibbs know he'd spoken with Ziva, he did not want the Bureau to blindside his Boss. Somehow 'telling' Gibbs was no longer scary now when he considered what the FBI was trying to do.

Downstairs, Tony finished cooking the pasta dish, dished it into two large bowls and handed one to Gibbs as he sat at the table. Both men dug in hungrily. After they finished, Tony grabbed his jacket and headed back to the office. He'd thought of a couple more things he could do and he might still be able to reach people on the West Coast.

Gibbs cleaned up the kitchen and headed downstairs to work on his latest project. He worked for a couple of hours, feeling some of the stress fall off his shoulders. In need of more coffee, he climbed the stairs and headed into the kitchen, mug in hand, only to stop, chagrined as he heard Tim call out. He hadn't thought to check on him before now. Giving himself a headslap, he ran up the stairs to the guest room.

Reaching Tim's side, Gibbs couldn't quite understand his words but Tim was calling out for someone. After a couple of minutes, the older man realized it was Patrick; Tim was calling for his little brother. Other than the name, Tim's mumbled cries were unintelligible and Gibbs wondered if this was a new nightmare or something stirred up by all the trouble. He sat on the edge of the bed and gently rubbed his thumb in circles on McGee's forehead until the young man calmed, and fell back into a deeper sleep.

Remembering his earlier thought about not knowing what haunted Tim, he was saddened by what he now knew. This poor kid had lost so much, nearly everything, at such a young age and yet had grown up to be a good man, a solid trusting soul. As he sat watching over him, he understood with a little more clarity why this near genius, who could be working at or even running a tech company or any one of a dozen other higher paying and prestigious options, had worked so hard to become an NCIS Field Agent. Perhaps it was to prevent the Natalies of the world from succeeding, or to make sure the dependents of Navy and Marine parents got the help and attention they needed, when they needed it. At the very least it was to ensure that nothing like what had happened to Tim, Patrick and Sarah happened to anyone else, no child would go without help and support if Tim McGee had anything to do with it.

He wondered what the rest of the story would be. Someone must have taken the McGees in and raised them. He anticipated being told they'd been housed in the system, in foster care. Obviously, they made it through, survived and thrived, he knew Tim and Sarah had, plus the older boy was a Marine Lieutenant, Special Forces. He was sure he'd be told the youngest uh…Rob, was also a success, or at least in training for it.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Tim slept fitfully through the night, sometimes needing the 'thumb of comfort', sometimes settling himself. Gibbs had tried returning to work in the basement, but after the third trip up to comfort Tim, Gibbs gave up and slept in a chair, his long legs up on the bed so he could stretch out. A couple of pillows and a blanket kept him warm and not quite uncomfortable. One of his last waking thoughts was that if this kept up, he would move the overstuffed chair into the room.

After years in the Corps, he never needed an alarm and woke at his normal hour to follow his morning routine. As he poured his first cup of coffee, out of the corner of his eye he saw Tim padding into the kitchen, eyes mostly shut, nose up and headed straight for the coffeemaker. Chuckling, he stepped out of the way and quickly poured McGee a mug of the dark nectar. The young man inhaled half of the liquid in one gulp and fully opened his eyes.

"Morning, Boss."

"Morning, Tim. I'm going to grab a shower then fix breakfast. You can shower after you eat."

"Aye Sir, I mean Boss." Tim's mouth twisted into an embarrassed grin at his automatic response.

"Your father teach you that?"

"Yes, he was big on us following rules and orders, 'specially because he was sure Patrick and I would both end up Navy. Why it was pretty easy getting used to your rules and orders, Boss."

Gibbs gave him a look and Tim spoke again, "I said your rules and orders, Boss, not DiNozzo's!"

He chuckled at the light headslap he got for that; then offered to cook breakfast.

"I'm a decent cook, don't do a lot of fancy dishes like Ziva or Tony, but I'm pretty good with the basics. I can do bacon, eggs and toast again if that's what you had in mind? And more coffee, of course."

Gibbs nodded then gave him a tap on the shoulder as he headed off for his shower, laughing to himself. Who knew their Probie was not only capable of sassing the boss but could also cook?

As they rode into work, Tim spoke softly.

"Boss, been thinking; couple things…"

"Yeah?"

"I'm sure my phone has a tap on it by now. Probably all of our phones, and everyone needs to use those sniffers I made us to find any bugs at home. Especially you and at my apartment. And…" Tim took a deep breath, "Don't want you to be blindsided but here goes…Ziva and I have been breaking Rule 12, and we spoke on the phone last night. In Hebrew, just to make things more interesting for whoever was listening for the FBI."

"How long, McGee?"

"Well, uh, we'd just started seeing each other before the Director died. We kept in touch by e-mail and phone when Ziva got sent back to Israel and then when you got the team back together, we…."

Gibbs interrupted, "That long, Tim? I haven't noticed anything on the job and Rule 12 is mostly to prevent problems on the team and in the office. You two serious?"

"Yes, Boss, we are. We're actually…" Tim swallowed, oh well in for a penny, in for a pound, "We're living together, Boss. Have been for a couple of months."

"Ok, we'll talk about this later, don't want you to worry about that right now. Except… McGee, you had support at home that first night, you could have…"

"Yeah, Boss, but I really…uh, it's just that…" Tim's shoulders slumped.

"It's just that for once I was paying attention to you and it felt good to be noticed and cared about for a change?"

Tim twisted his lips. "Yeah, something like that, Boss. We've never spent any time together and as much as I love Ziva, I really needed you. Still do, if that's ok."

Gibbs reached out to give him a headslap but noticing the almost imperceptible flinch and slightly hitched shoulder, just patted him on back of his head. "You'd better not ever have to ask me that again, Timothy McGee. We're family and it's on me you didn't understand that included you. I'm fine with you and Ziva, kind of proud to tell you the truth. But we will discuss it later, got it?"

"Aye S…Boss!" This time Tim was mortified he'd again responded in Navy style.

"Was that it? You said a couple of things."

"Yes, Boss, one more thing. Whoever it is with the DNA…"

"Can't tell you yet, not confirmed, but go on."

"I don't want to meet him or her. I'll be grateful for the DNA sample, sure, but I don't want to meet them."

"Your call, Tim. Thought you'd be happy to know you've got more family than your brothers and sister."

"I do have more family, Boss, I have all of you guys."

Gibbs gave him a look. "Know damn well what I meant, McGee. Blood relatives."

"Would have been happy if they'd been there when we really needed them, Boss. When Natalie hurt Patrick and me so badly we had to go to the hospital, were they there then? When I was in the hospital by myself, when I lost my father and brother, where were they then? After Natalie…" Tim stopped himself, anger welling up fast and furious.

"After she abandoned you, Tim?"

"Yeah. I was 9 years old, Boss, with casts on my legs, and a 3 year old to take care of, in a strange place no friends, no family. NINE. YEARS. OLD. Where the HELL were they?"

"Don't know, Tim. If I had known…" His youngest interrupted him, "Oh, I know, Boss, you would have just taken us in, no questions asked. You didn't even know us; you would have done it anyway."

"Yeah Tim, I would have. But this anger, Tim, there's so much going on with all this mess, you're going to need a way to get it out of you, to deal with it. Can't keep you sedated, son."

Tim looked at him, still smoldering and trying to gain control. Gibbs reached over and grabbed his shoulder. "Not saying you shouldn't feel angry or any other emotion, Tim, with all of it, even the parts I don't know yet. Just saying that with everything going on, you need to find a way to deal. For now. We'll help, all of us, you know we're there for you."

Tim bit his lower lip and turned his face to the window. "You can't possibly know, Boss, how much that means to me. That all of you have been helping me, by my side, making sure I eat and sleep, Ducky with the sedative yesterday. It means everything to me, don't want you to think I take any of that for granted."

"But you should be able to, Tim, it's what families do. If it was Sarah or Rob or…"Tim supplied, "Geordie", "Right, Geordie, you'd do the same, you have done the same. Look at how you stepped up for Sarah when she was in trouble."

"I know Boss, guess my point is, I'm used to being the one to step up, never had it done for me before. Not before Ziva, not before you."

Gibbs felt that tug in his gut, the one that said to buckle up and hang tight because what was coming was going to be a helluva ride. But Tim fell silent, having said what he needed to.

They reached the Yard and parked. Turning to Tim, Gibbs said, with one of his trademark smirks, "I'm going for coffee, want to come or catch up with Ziva and Tony if he's in yet?"

Tim gave him a half smile, "Think I'm gonna head upstairs and do just that, Boss, get caught up."

"Hold on, before you go, let me call Ziva and make sure Fornell and Sacks aren't lurking anywhere around. Don't want you anywhere near them and technically I'm supposed to be with you all the time."

Tim frowned at that, knowing it meant he was actually in Gibbs' custody; Gibbs pressed the contact button for Ziva. "Morning Ziva, Tim and I are in the parking garage, I'm going for coffee, wanted to check and make sure the coast is clear."

He paused as he listened, "Ok, we'll both go for coffee then, let Vance know and Ziva? Tim told me about you two, proud of you both; we'll talk about it later when this mess is cleaned up."

He turned to Tim, "Ziva said Security just alerted her that the Dynamic Duo are aboard the Yard, so you're with me. Damn, I didn't ask if Ms. Newell is here yet."

Tim pointed to the bright green car in the lot, "Looks like she is, Boss, that's her car."

"Ok, you're still coming with me, McGee; let her handle the morning greetings."

As they walked to Gibbs' coffee dealer, Tim said, "Wish the others could meet us somewhere, Boss, I feel like I don't know anything about what's happening, what anyone's found out."

"Because you don't know, Tim; we'll bring you up to date with what we can at lunch. Information should all be tied up with a big red bow by then. But we can bring them coffee, tea and treats, after all you never had a chance to eat that pastry yesterday."

"Ugh, yeah, actually hope Tony ate it! Good idea."

Just as the two exited the coffee shop with their order, Gibbs received a call from the Director.

"Gibbs, where are you? Commander Hubbard is coming onto MTAC in 5 minutes."

"We're on our way to the building, Leon."

"Security will escort Agent McGee straight to Autopsy; Dr. Mallard wants to check him out this morning. Agent Carter and Ms. Newell will collect him there."

"Geez, Leon, is all that really neces…"

"Yes, right now we have to play this strictly by the rules if we want to keep him out of the hands of the FBI."

Gibbs grumbled as he disconnected. Tim looked at him, "What? What am I going to be forced to go through now, Boss?"

With a sigh, Gibbs filled him in. "Ducky wants to see you in Autopsy. I'm needed in MTAC so someone from Security will escort you down there once we get in the building. Then Carter and Ms. Newell will meet you in Autopsy when you and Ducky are done and bring you to the conference room for today's fun."

For the second time in an hour, Tim's face got red with anger, "I'm not even allowed to move around NCIS without an escort? What happened to supporting me, to believing in me?" Tim's voice got quieter and more deliberate, by now he was nearly spitting his words.

Gibbs responded in a similarly clipped tone, "McGee! This may not seem like it, but this is supporting you, believing in you! I don't like it either, none of us do, son, but right now following strict protocol is the only way to keep you with us and out of their custody."

"It's not right, Boss, I was a kid, just a child when all this happened, I never did anything wrong, and everything I've been through, it just…sucks and I probably sound like a whiny little kid but it's .right."

"You don't sound like a whiny kid, Tim; you're a grown man who's already dealt with more than your fair share of hardship, now having to deal with this crap. Must feel like it's never-ending. You're allowed to be angry, hell, you should be angry! Be worried if you weren't. You've done a great job so far of holding yourself together,"

At Tim's eye roll, he continued, "Yeah, you needed some help yesterday, that's understandable. Not every day you're accused of being a mole and traitor. Tim,"

Gibbs stopped and pulled Tim off to the side with him, "Look at me! The person who's going to provide the DNA that matches you will be meeting with Vance and me this morning. Wherever he or she is, we can get that sample here within 36 hours. We have an independent lab standing by to test, so we won't have to worry about the FBI accusing us of "bias", or worry about them tainting the evidence. Vance contacted Abby and she gave him the name of a lab she trusts."

Gibbs paused to take a breath. He was not used to speaking this much at once. "You're one of the most patient people I've ever met, Tim, so you need to continue that. This morning you'll tell Fornell and Sacks about Bayopolis and yes, I'll be in there with you. And Ducky and probably Vance. Now c'mon, coffee's getting cold."

Tim closed his eyes, took in a deep breath and exhaled, slowly. When he nodded at Gibbs, they briskly resumed their walk to NCIS.

As promised, after they signed in, one of the Security agents went with Tim to Autopsy. Watching them walk away, Gibbs felt a chill running down his spine. As confident as he was in proving Tim's innocence, watching his own agent being escorted through the building made him angry, sad and a little frightened. They had to get this completely resolved or Tim's career would be over and his life irrevocably changed. There could be no unanswered questions, doubts or dangling threads.

Giving himself a shake, he turned to pick up his belongings and was met by the concerned warm eyes of Henry, his favorite Security guard, "He'll be all right, won't he, Gibbs? You'll figure it out so he won't look so heartbroken, right?"

Gibbs just nodded at his old friend and continued on to MTAC.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

The agent accompanying Tim was quiet which Tim greatly appreciated. They were early so there were not a lot of people around, but he still felt every eye on him and was humiliated. He tried not to run into the elevator that would take them down to Ducky's office, but did sigh in relief as the doors closed. His escort gave him a brief glance with a small smile of understanding and once they reached the double doors, the man gave him a light pat on the shoulder and turned back to the elevator. Tim walked into Autopsy, calling for Ducky. Jimmy popped up from behind one of the metal tables, "Oh hi, Tim. Dr. Mallard just stepped out for a minute, he'll be right back."

"Ok, Jimmy, thanks. You guys have any new…guests this morning?"

"No, not so far. How are you doing, Tim?"

"I'm ok, I guess, just…you know." Palmer nodded and then, gesturing with his cleaning brush, returned to his task. Ducky returned and had Tim sit on one of the clean tables while he took his blood pressure and took his temperature. Tim had no idea why his temperature was in question but supposed it might be a delaying tactic or just a precaution. Knowing Ducky and Gibbs, it could be both. As Ducky declared his blood pressure to be acceptable, Tim heard the elevator doors and looked up to see his attorney and Agent Carter enter the room. Ms. Newell's eyes widened as she took in the gleaming tables and the freezer drawers and Tim realized she'd likely never been in a morgue. Ducky was satisfied with his findings, so he motioned for Tim to button his shirt and the four of them, Tim, Ducky, the attorney and Carter, were soon on their way.

As they reached the third floor, Tim and Ms. Newell started to turn towards the conference room, but Carter shook his head. "Sorry Tim, Fornell is insistent we use Interrogation. Your attorney will be in there with you, of course."

He led the way to Interrogation, unlocking the door. Heartbroken and once again feeling both hopeless and outraged, Tim followed him in. Carter turned, "Since your attorney is here, Agent McGee, I won't stay in the room with you." While he was talking, he had his back to the cameras and motioned to Tim with his eyes. Looking up, Tim saw no red light and knew that was because Ms Newell was with him.

Closing his eyes, he nodded at Carter who then left the room. Tim wished a hole would open up and let him just sink in. However, as he tried to get comfortable in a chair not designed for comfort, he remembered Tony had been here, in this room, at this table, twice, accused of murders he had not committed. Worse, he'd had to spend the night in lockup. He made a mental note to apologize to his friend for the harmonica. His intention had been to bring some cheer, now he understood how futile a gesture that had been. Remembering all this gave him the strength he needed to pull himself together and sit up straight in the inflexible chair.

As he did, his attorney turned to him, "You know they're not recording now, they're not allowed to." At his nod, she continued. "I had a quick meeting with Director Vance and Agent Gibbs right before I went down to …that place." The woman gave a small shudder, "They'll be briefing you on what they learned after this." and she nodded towards the mirrored window, "Also I read the file Director Vance gave me with your permission, so let's quickly run through what you plan to tell these people."

Putting their heads together, turned away from the mirrored window, the two decided on the level of detail Tim would be giving about his experiences in Bayopolis. There were a couple of points of contention, things Tim didn't feel were necessary to reveal, things he had never even told Sarah and Rob, although Geordie knew. Ms. Newell felt, however, that those things demonstrated the ridiculousness of the charges; that someone as valuable as a "sleeper agent" would not have been essentially disposed of the way he had been. Tim finally agreed to reveal the events, but only if prompted by his attorney.

As they concluded their discussion, the door opened and Director Vance came in, followed by Fornell and Sacks. Sacks stood in the corner as Fornell sat across the table; Vance sat at the end of the table, closest to Tim. As he sat, he nodded to Tim, "Agent Gibbs will be in shortly, Agent McGee."

Fornell leaned in, "I'm not waiting for him; McGee or whatever your real name is, what is…"

Ms. Newell interrupted, "His title is Special Agent, his name is Timothy McGee, he is a federal agent with NCIS, you will refer to him by that title and name, Agent Fornell, is that clear? Further, since Director Vance has just assured us Special Agent Gibbs will be here shortly, we will wait." As Fornell opened his mouth, she added, "In silence."

Line Break

As Gibbs entered MTAC, he saw on screen the image of a man in a Naval Officer's uniform. As he reached Vance's side, Leon turned partially to him and said, "Commander Hubbard, this is Agent Gibbs, in charge of solving the McGees' case. Agent Gibbs, this is Commander James Hubbard, brother of Lily Hubbard McGee, uncle to her children."

The two men nodded at each other and the Commander spoke first, "I'm grateful you're re-opening the case, Director Vance, Agent Gibbs, it's been so many years, but my family, that is my mother and I have never stopped mourning those poor kids and their father of course. Dan was a good man, a good father, an excellent Naval officer and the boys, they were special, both of them, really special. Tim and Patrick were two of the best and the brightest, heaven only knows what they would be accomplishing now if they'd lived. And our little Sarah, she was only three but she already had quite a personality. Her brothers adored her and she them." He paused for a breath. "I'm assuming since you've reopened this there's new information?"

"Yes, Commander, there is." Vance replied, turning towards Gibbs who simply said, "Commander Hubbard, would you be willing to give us a sample of your DNA? A simple cheek swab by your doctor or medic would be priority delivered to us."

"My DNA? I don't understand."

"We believe we have a break in the case, Commander; since you are the closest living relative of the McGee children, need your DNA to help resolve it."

The Commander nodded, blinking his eyes rapidly, "To see justice finally done for my nephews and niece? You can have whatever you need. Agent Gibbs, Director Vance, I can be at NCIS headquarters this afternoon. I'm at the Pentagon for a meeting which I know will be extended over lunch; I will be there by 1400, will that be sufficient?"

"Yes sir, it certainly will, we'll see you then." Gibbs said. Vance nodded to the man as he motioned for the call to end. He turned to the techs. "Officer David mentioned that you kept your surprise under control when she spoke with Admiral Crane about Agent McGee. I'm sure it was difficult hearing that about someone you know and work closely with. You did well again today, thank you." Nodding to them, he tilted his head at Gibbs and they turned to leave the secured room.

As they walked up the ramp, Vance looked at his watch, "Fornell and Sacks are here, I'm sure they're chomping at the bit to get started. And Gibbs," Vance put his hand on Gibbs' arm, stopping him.

Stone-faced, Gibbs looked at his boss. "Gibbs, I know you're not going to like this, but again I had to follow protocol. When Agent McGee and Ms. Newell left Ducky's office, they were escorted to Interrogation."

Gibbs closed his eyes, why hadn't he seen this coming? He could have prepared Tim, his gut clenched as he thought of his boy, his agent, finding this out as it was happening to him.

He shook his head. "FBI's going to have a helluva lot to answer for, Leon, making him go through all this. And I'll bet you a year's salary they don't have squat for evidence; somebody and I have a suspicion who, made this bogus accusation to deflect attention or stall for time and instead of going ahead with their original case, they decided to accuse Tim and hope the truth would just fall out. As usual, Director, we're solving their case for them. But at what price? Tony had enough trouble coming back from not one but TWO false murder accusations by the Feebs and now this, for Tim to be labeled a traitor just out of the blue, with no evidence, none that we've seen or heard. How is my agent," at Vance's fierce look, Gibbs corrected himself, "our agent going to come back from this? Mentally, emotionally? We have to work with these morons, how can he, how can we, anyone at this agency, ever trust them again?"

Vance took a moment to look at his top agent. Tired and angry, the angriest he thought he'd ever seen him and to tell the truth, he was just as angry. "I've had long conversations with SecNav about this, Jethro. When we've cleared Tim, there will be a formal inquiry into the FBI's disregard for normal standards and practices in this case. Secretary Davenport has directed me to start the necessary paperwork. By the time we're done, the Bureau will issue a formal declaration of wrongdoing and apology to Agent McGee, his family and NCIS. It will be handled discreetly, yes, but everyone involved in this will know what an unnecessary witch hunt this has been. Now, why don't you go update DiNozzo and David and then join me in Interrogation with Tim, Ms Newell and our former friends."

Gibbs nodded halfheartedly and received a pat on the arm as both men finally left MTAC, and walked down the stairs.

Tony and Ziva, having earlier seen the unfortunate sight of their teammate and friend being escorted, along with Tim's attorney, towards Interrogation, had looked at each other for a long moment before grabbing their phones and continuing the work they had started the day before. As they made their phone calls, they finally spotted Gibbs and Vance coming down the staircase, Gibbs continuing towards them, the Director turning down the corridor that would take him to Interrogation.

Gibbs held up his hand as he entered the bullpen and spoke quietly. "I know, guys. I just heard. Vance is following every bit of protocol to keep Tim here with us. Don't read anything more into it than that."

He paused for breath and both his agents immediately opened their mouths, "Hang on; got something to tell you first, then I'm going to sit in with Tim and the others. You two can watch in Observation if you have all the information we're after." Both nodded and waited.

"Vance and I spoke with Commander Hubbard and he said the same thing both the Admiral and Agent Richards said, that all 3 children had been lost. So we've confirmed that was somehow made known to all parties, even though it wasn't true. We need to figure that out, how was the information manipulated and are there 4 graves – we'll need that exhumation as soon as possible, talk to Ducky or Palmer to see about expediting that. Also, the Commander is at the Pentagon this morning, finally we get a break, he will be here at 1400 to give us a DNA sample. NOW, listen carefully," and Gibbs lowered his voice even further. "You are not to say anything to Tim about this. He knows we've found someone whose DNA we expect to match his and Sarah's, but he doesn't know who it is. Remember his memory loss. He has also decided he doesn't want to meet the DNA donor. DiNozzo, before we send the Commander's cheek swab over to the lab, want you to get a fresh sample from Tim as well and include it. And no, you may not question Tim's decision, it's his prerogative and there will be no teasing, sniping or mentioning of any of this, understood?"

Gibbs finished this with a solid glare at DiNozzo who nodded back, "Understood Boss. None of our business."

Gibbs turned to Ziva, "David?"

"Yes Gibbs, I understand."

"All right, good, let's go then."

"Ah Gibbs, I am not quite done, I will stay and continue to work the case."

Gibbs gave her a short nod, "Fine, Ziva." The two men left the bullpen and headed for Interrogation and Observation.

Tony entered Observation to find Ducky already in there, his medical bag on the floor beside him. They nodded at each other and Tony turned to find Interrogation strangely silent. Tim had his eyes on the mirror and Tony wondered if he was reciting the Periodic Table or calculating the value of Pi; he knew Tim sometimes used these as distractions from his thoughts. Ms. Newell was writing notes, from what Tony could see it might be a grocery or to-do list and Fornell was pacing in front of the mirror. As he watched, his boss slowly opened the door, walked to Tim and put a bottle of water on the table in front of him, also handing a bottle to Ms. Newell. He then walked back to the other end of the table from Vance and took a seat. Fornell stopped his pacing, turned and slammed himself down into his chair, Tony winced; he bet that hurt, although right now he wasn't feeling any sympathy for ol' Toby.

"Fine, Ms. Newell, all parties are now here, may we proceed?" The FBI agent nearly spat out the "request", sarcasm evident in every word.

"Yes, Agent Fornell, my client is more than ready to get this travesty over with," She replied calmly in a steely voice. "Go ahead, Special Agent McGee."

Tim nodded and began by addressing the FBI agents.

"You've accused me of being a "sleeper agent" or mole, replacing the real Timothy McGee. I know I am the real Tim McGee and I know that will be proved. In the meantime, I have a question for you. How would you expect a 9 year old "sleeper agent" to be handled? He's a valuable asset, right? He can provide all sorts of information, perform all sorts of tasks when he's old enough to serve his real masters…in this case, the Soviet Union. Do you agree with that, that a mole or "sleeper agent", especially one so young would be a valuable asset?" Tim sat back and waited for the two FBI agents to agree.

When their voices appeared to be somewhat muted, Tim leaned forward, looked at the camera and said, "I'm sorry, I didn't quite catch that. Do you agree with me that a 9 year old "sleeper agent" would be handled carefully, as a valuable asset?"

Glaring at him but answering anyway as he had no idea where this was going, Fornell answered, "Yes, I agree, Special Agent McGee, that a 9 year old "sleeper agent" would be considered a valuable asset."

Ms. Newell nodded her head and then looked expectantly at Agent Sacks.

Sacks, glaring at the room in general, now spoke, "I also agree, Special Agent McGee, that a 9 year old "sleeper agent" would be considered a valuable asset."

"Thank you. Then perhaps you can explain to me, if I was a sleeper agent and thus a valuable asset to an enemy government, why they threw me – and my baby sister – away?"

Tim sat back and watched as Fornell and Sacks sputtered. Fornell regained his power of speech, "What the hell does that mean, Special Agent McGee?"

This was said with so much force that moisture flew from his lips. Both Tim and Ms. Newell needed tissues, quietly handed to them by Gibbs, to clean their lapels. Fornell at least had the sense to appear somewhat abashed.

Ms. Newell shook her head, "Now, Agent Fornell, is that any way for a grown man, a Federal Agent, to behave?"

Fornell pursed his lips and nodded at Tim, "Special Agent McGee, if you would please explain your comment?"

"Certainly. As I told you earlier, after the murders, excuse me, deaths of my father and brother and my own injuries, my stepmother never visited me in the hospital. Except for the day I was discharged. I told you about the home health aide making sure both Sarah and I had a hot meal to eat the days she was there. I also told you that soon after I was fitted with walking casts, my stepmother told me she could no longer care for us, not that she'd done much anyway, and was sending us to her cousins. She put us on a bus, paid some guy to carry me up the stairs as I could not yet bend my legs, and off we went and by the way, we never saw her again. Here we were, my three-year-old sister, totally dependent on me, and me, a 9-year-old boy 3 weeks out of the hospital, 5 weeks out of a 19 day coma, with casts on my legs and still suffering the aftereffects of my injuries. Orphaned by the death of our father, abandoned by our guardian.

Our fellow passengers were usually kind enough to help me get to and from the small bathroom on the bus; I had to be carried down the steps to it and then lifted back up. A few times I had to sit on the steps and crawl." Tim paused, "Does any of that sound like a puppet master taking care of his or her "valuable asset?"

He continued. "When we reached Bayopolis, there was nobody to meet us. My sister and I stayed in the bus station waiting room for an entire day. No cousins, nobody looking for two children, nobody to help us. There was a kid there, older than me, and he went by us a few times, checking us out. He was going through the trash; I guessed he was looking for food. We still had a half a sandwich left – with Sarah being so adorable we had not gone unfed on our trip, all she had to do was blink and the ladies were feeding both of us. So I caught the kid's eye and gestured with the half sandwich. He came over and sat next to me, we exchanged names and he took the half sandwich, broke it in half and tucked part away, then ate the other half. That's a quarter of a stale peanut butter sandwich. Within days, that would seem like heaven to me.

Anyway, the kid, whose name was Geordie, asked who we were waiting for. By that time I'd figured out that we weren't waiting for anybody, nobody was coming. Natalie lied; she'd sent us off, across the country, to a strange city to disappear. No help, very little money, no food and no place to stay. No parents. She knew I had memory problems and didn't remember names of my father's friends or shipmates. Or any other relatives we might have. Now Geordie, he was a pretty smart kid and since he wasn't a grownup I was more inclined to trust him. Not to mention getting desperate. He told me he stayed at a homeless camp and that we could go there with him, at least for the night, and come back to the bus station the next day. He said it was a 3 block walk. So we set out, me walking like Frankenstein's monster and trying to carry our bags and hold onto Sarah. I wasn't about to trust anyone with my baby sister or our bags; that was all we had left, each other and what we had in those bags. After a block, I couldn't go any further, so Geordie found a shopping cart, somehow he got me into it, Sarah climbed in and then he put our bags in. And that's how we ended our first day in Bayopolis, headed to the homeless camp with a strange kid, in a shopping cart because I couldn't walk." Tim stopped talking and took the cap off his water, taking a couple of healthy swigs.

"Do you have witnesses to this, Mc…I mean Special Agent McGee? People who could verify this actually happened to you?"

The question came from Sacks and as one, Tim, Ms. Newell, Gibbs and Director Vance swiveled their heads to glare at him.

Tim answered, "Yes, Agent Spacks, I mean Sacks, I do have witnesses. There are several people still at the homeless camp who can verify my arrival. You see, a kid already a resident hauling two new kids and bags in by shopping cart was a first and as we were there for several years, people remembered. And that shopping cart was still at the camp last time I was there, it's a precious object there. You can also check with Dr. Colleen Kelly, she used to run a free clinic on 59th Street, she was the one who removed my walking casts three weeks after we arrived in Bayopolis, she might still have the records."

"When was the last time you were there, at the camp?"

"A month ago; my sister and I distributed a load of blankets and groceries."

"And who are the witnesses that can verify this?"

"The woman who takes care of the kids, at least their first few nights and the man who makes sure every child has something to eat, even if it's less than a quarter of a peanut butter sandwich."

"Do they have names, Special Agent McGee?"

"I thought you'd want to ferret that out for yourselves, you know, so you can be sure I didn't set this all up."

"And this camp?" Although tempted to continue with his 'playing dumb' strategy, Tim decided to stop poking the bears.

"It's 3 blocks southwest of the bus station. You can't miss it. Full of people and tents; shelters of all kinds."

"Anything else?"

"You might also want to check at the 59th Street mission, that's a homeless shelter. We stayed there for three years pretending to be the children of a drug addict. Eventually she disappeared and we ended up back at the camp."

"How long were you there – total?"

"We were in Bayopolis for 9 years. At the shelter for 3, at the camp for roughly 6."

"Roughly?"

"When I was 12, I was cut – stabbed - pretty badly, nearly bled to death, somehow my kids – Sarah and the little boy I later adopted, Rob, got help for me and I made it to the hospital. The kids were still pretty little, 6 and 5, too young to stay by themselves, so they brought our cases, that's suitcases, with all our belongings, and hid them in my hospital room. They hid in there with me until they got too hungry. Ellen, that was Rob's mother, the drug addict, wasn't around but she was still listed as our mother at the shelter so we could say we had a parent. She never showed at the hospital and Sarah heard one of the staff say she was going to call Child Protection Services to pick up Sarah and Robbie. I'd been in the hospital for a few days and was able to walk by then. Sarah told me what she'd heard; to us, CPS was the enemy, to stay away from at all cost. I'd gotten fairly street smart by this time, we'd had to hide from CPS more than once so I had a list of what we called our hidey holes where we could go for a few days. I decided which one to go to and the kids waited until the staff was busy at shift change, then helped me to dress and get out of there, along with our cases. We stayed in a couple different places for nearly two months, until Geordie came looking for us and told us nobody was looking for us anymore."

"Whoa whoa whoa, got lots of questions, here Special Agent McGee. First of all, who is this Ellen person that you claimed was your mother, at the shelter? Then why didn't you go into foster care, what was wrong with CPS? And…"

Ms. Newell intervened, "That's enough questions. Timothy, would you like a break?"

"Not yet, thanks ma'am. I'd rather get this all out." She nodded her agreement and Tim, taking another couple swigs of water, continued.

"Ellen is or was, no idea if she's still alive, Ellen Brill, mother of my brother Rob. When Sarah and I arrived at the camp, I wanted to go to the homeless shelter, it was a building with real walls and a roof, there were cots rather than the ground and I thought we'd be safer there. I found out that in order for children under 18 to stay at the shelter, they had to be with an adult. Common practice at the time was that if a child didn't have a parent, then the kid would find a man or woman who was willing to say he or she was their parent. Then this "parent" and the kid could stay at the shelter. There were two family areas set aside, one on the women's side of the shelter, the other on the men's side.

Sarah and I were at the camp for 3 weeks before we met Robbie and Ellen. It took some persuading but Ellen was tired of having to take care of Robbie, who was two; she just wanted to party, not take care of a kid. I promised to take care of Robbie along with Sarah, so all Ellen had to do was show up at the shelter every night, eat a meal provided by the shelter and sleep with us in the women's family area. And once bed check was done, she could slip out and be "free" until the next evening. She agreed and we went to the shelter and registered as Ellen, Tim, Sarah and Rob Brill. As I said, she left when I got hurt and that was the end of the shelter for us."

Another long drink of water; Tony had handed in additional bottles at some point.

"As for foster care, no, that was not acceptable. I was responsible for Sarah; my father always made it clear that Patrick and I were her big brothers, responsible for her. He was proud of us for caring for her the way we did when she was a baby. Because of the big difference in our ages and because we were not the same gender, it was almost guaranteed we would not be placed in the same home. I would be under the rules of whatever household I was placed with and would be unable to get to my sister. At the camp, at the shelter and at school, we heard horror stories about foster kids being separated from their siblings and never allowed to see them, I knew foster kids who were repeatedly abused by someone in their foster home. When we left the bus station that first day, I had no trust left for grownups – any of them. That certainly covered CPS and foster parents. I now know good people work at CPS, we've worked with a couple of exceptional ones." He nodded to Gibbs, "But as a young homeless orphan, abandoned by everyone who should have taken care of us, the last thing I was going to do was put myself or worse, my baby sister, back into the hands of people I could not trust." Tim slumped in his chair, exhausted and looked at his attorney. Director Vance stood up, "Need a break, two hours."

Sacks opened his mouth to protest but snapped it shut at a look from Fornell.

Fornell turned to look at the Director. "He does not leave the building and must be in the company of an agent at all times."

Vance looked down at him, "Who, Fornell? I didn't hear any names in that request."

Fornell closed his eyes, "Special Agent McGee, Director Vance and it was not a request."

"So you, an agent from a different agency, believe you can give me an order to me, the Director of NCIS?"

Fornell sighed, "No of course not, Director. I apologize, one hour will be fine."

"Just wanted to clear that up, Fornell, and our break will be two hours, not one, we still have an agency to run here while you conduct this apparently evidence-free witch hunt. Special Agent McGee will remain in the custody of Special Agent Gibbs or with approval from Gibbs, a temporary replacement. Under that proviso, he is certainly allowed to leave the building. As I said, we'll meet back here in two hours at which time I expect you to be ready to present your evidence; do you agree, Ms. Newell?" Vance looked at the attorney.

"Yes indeed, Director. The presentation of any evidence implicating my client is long overdue."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed this installment, the next one will be up on the 16th.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Fornell and Sacks left the room, talking quietly. Vance, after a look from Gibbs, walked behind Tim, giving him a pat on the back as he continued towards the door. "You did fine, Agent McGee." He nodded to Ms. Newell as he closed the door after him.

Gibbs lightly cleared his throat, "Ms Newell, we have lunch waiting in the conference room. We'd like you to join us as we have some information for you and Tim."

Tim looked up, eyes wide. "Boss?"

"Once you've eaten, dear boy, and had a bit of rest." Ducky answered for Gibbs as he entered the room.

The attorney replied that she had some phone calls to make but would then join them in the conference room. Gibbs motioned to the mirror to stop the recording and clear Observation, waited until the light went off, then stood and walked over to his agent. He stood behind him, rubbing his shoulders, talking softly to him. "You did great, Tim, so proud of you."

Tim looked up at his Boss, obviously fighting emotional exhaustion. "C'mon son, let's get some food into you; Tony, Ziva and Jimmy are waiting for us."

"Ok, Boss but I really do need to make a pit stop first." Chuckling, Gibbs and Ducky led their weary friend to the restroom and then on to the conference room.

While Tim was in Interrogation, the rest of the team moved their papers and files into the conference room, wary of the FBI agents who had free access throughout the building. Gibbs' team wasn't quite ready to present their evidence, although they had amassed far more than they thought possible after two decades. The hospital in California where 9 year old Tim had lain alone in a coma, had been of tremendous help, digging up records and paper work archived long ago. They had faxed everything and were sending the originals by overnight courier. Not only Tim's records but a signed and notarized statement as to the employment of Dr. Potter and/or Rev. Potter. Records of the boys' births and identification information were sent over from the Naval Administration offices who, as Kate once said, never threw anything away.

Ziva texted Tony, asked him to return from Observation; she had so much information coming in she was in desperate need of help. She tracked down the schools Tim had attended in California; both schools e-mailed class photos with Tim circled. With the help of Tony's friend, Dr. Brad Pitt, they tracked down two of the Navy doctors who treated Tim as a child. They hit pay dirt when one of the doctors remembered the brothers being admitted to the hospital after their stepmother had beaten them. He was a young resident at the time and the boys were his first case of custodial abuse. He mentioned Tim had a rather vicious cut on his face that had not healed properly and left a scar. As they were speaking to him through MTAC, they asked him to point to where the scar would be on his own face, and he pointed to the exact spot where their teammate had a small scar. As Tony and Ziva turned from the screen after ending the call, Sandy, one of the techs, had given Ziva a bright hopeful smile and Ziva grinned back. Score one for Tim!

The remains of the station wagon had not yet been located and Tony had a sinking sensation that, even though it was involved in an open murder case, what was left of the old station wagon was long gone to scrap. The rear door with the paint transfer, however, had been located in a secured evidence lookup at the Seattle NCIS office and agents there were standing by, ready to ship it if deemed necessary.

Thinking about the paint transfer, Tony wondered if Abby or Ginger, her temporary replacement, would be able to trace the make and model of the car that had made the transfer. In the age of electronics, Abby had pulled all kinds of helpful information from cars. He called the Seattle office back and found they had a forensics technician they knew and trusted, hearing that it was for a cold case involving the family of a fellow agent, the Agent in Charge promised priority treatment.

In the meantime, Tony went back online to dig through California Department of Motor Vehicle records for 1986 to find what cars were registered to Commander or Natalie McGee. After nearly pulling his hair out, he called Cybercrimes and asked them for help. Knowing that it was to help Tim, his fellow geeks were more than happy to do the search for the vehicles. Within minutes, Tony had a list of two vehicles, one the station wagon and one a Honda sedan. Before he left the sub-basement, he thought to ask his helper if there was any way to determine the color of the sedan. It wasn't on the registration, unfortunately, however one of the geeks pulled the insurance ID card for his own vehicle and found the color on there. Tony called Ziva and had her check the file for any insurance information. It was there, the name of the company, even the policy number. Tony profusely thanked his geek assistants and nearly ran back upstairs.

Once back in the conference room and his temporary desk, he quickly found the number of the insurance company, thanking the universe the company was still in business. It took awhile to track down the policy, as the company had not digitized all of their older documents. However, the representative Tony was working with was thrilled with the idea of possibly helping to solve a crime. She took the information, promising to call Tony as soon as she found anything.

While he waited, he started adding up all the bits of evidence they had, separating what they had proving Tim was Tim from the evidence they had from the hit and run. He also helped Ziva sort hospital records. After nearly an hour, he got the call from the insurance company, the policy file had been found and as he suspected, the sedan was blue. There was a photo in the file and within a few minutes, the rep had e-mailed it to Tony. He forwarded the e-mail with the photo attached to the Seattle office for their comparison.

Still sorting and separating records and photos, the two were surprised when Jimmy knocked on the door and then let himself in. He carried a large cardboard box of sandwiches, assorted drinks and snacks. At their surprised looks, Jimmy huffed and set his cargo down carefully away from the piles of papers on the conference table. "What? Dr. Mallard gave me money and told me to buy lunch for the team. He just texted me that he and Agent Gibbs are on their way here with Tim. Sounds like he's pretty wiped out."

Tony started to reply, only to be interrupted by the buzz of his cell. Seeing the Id, he smirked, "Yes Boss, I understand you're on the way here with Tim and Ducky. Yes, he's back with the food and…" Tony made a face at Jimmy who smiled and pointed to a hot beverage cup, "Yes, Doc Palmer got you a cup of coffee. Are you…, he hung up."

The three of them smiled and started carefully moving the paperwork to the credenzas. Just as they finished, Gibbs, Tim and Ducky entered the room. Ziva took one look at her poor Tim and pulled a chair out for him.

"Here Timothy, sit here and rest. I will get you your food." Three pairs of eyes widened at Ziva's use of McGee's full name rather than her usual 'Maghee'. She rolled her eyes back at them as Gibbs bit back a chuckle and Tim wished everyone just knew about them already. They each picked up a sandwich, snack and a drink and settled in around the table.

Tim picked at his sandwich until Ducky fussed at him, then he managed to eat half. Watching him, Gibbs swallowed past the lump in his throat, remembering Tim's description of a quarter of a peanut butter sandwich as "heaven". Having eaten all he could manage, Tim wanted to know what they'd found. Tony and Ziva presented an overview of what they'd uncovered for the hit and run, Tony was very excited about the door panel and the whole paint transfer-color matching scenario. Tim was amused and warmed by Tony's enthusiasm. The attorney slipped into the room as Tony was talking and made some notes.

Vance came and sat with them for a couple of minutes, long enough to tell them Fornell and Sacks had postponed the rest of the interrogation until the morning. He quoted Fornell as saying he realized the Bureau "may have been a bit hasty" and he and Sacks would spend the rest of the day verifying Tim's Bayopolis information. This news made everyone happy and Ms. Newell left, after a quick conversation with her client. Tim felt relieved, no FBI hounding him meant he could do some actual work instead of wasting the day in Interrogation, spilling additional personal information. After Vance left, Gibbs sent everyone but Tim back to their respective work areas, the other two field agents gathered up all their paperwork and files, taking it back to the bullpen. With the FBI out of the building for the afternoon, they had no worries about accidental discovery.

As they left, the junior agent looked at his boss and just knew there was a serious talk coming his way. He'd already figured out there was some big piece of information he wasn't being told, nobody had mentioned any interviews or the 'DNA sample donor'.

As soon as Vance announced the postponement of the afternoon's session with the FBI, Gibbs knew it was time to tell Tim about his supposed death and the arrival of his uncle in less than an hour. The Team Leader had decided to hold off on telling Tim of the other piece of information they'd seen in Agent Richards' notes. He wanted to talk with the retired agent himself before mentioning an unconfirmed relationship that could effectively change Tim's life. There were enough things threatening life changes circling around his head this week, no need to add another one right now.

Gibbs moved down the table to sit beside Tim. The younger man gave him an expectant look.

"You going to tell me whatever it is all of you have been sitting on?"

"That obvious, huh?"'

"Criminal investigator, trained by the best in the business."

"Ok, kiddo, yeah, I didn't want to pile more on top of the witch hunt. Now that we have a break and you've gotten your Bayopolis story out there, it's time."As Gibbs spoke, he rested a hand on the back of Tim's neck.

"Oh man, Boss, is it going to be that bad? Look, I know I'm Tim McGee and that I'm not a sleeper agent. And I have a strong suspicion about the hit and run. I know I've had my ups and downs this week, but really, I'm not made out of glass."

"Ok, son, just going to tell you. Nobody came looking for you because everyone connected to you and your family was told that all three of you kids died. Patrick and Sarah in the wreck itself and you days later from your injuries. Everyone we spoke with told us the same thing, how tragic it was and how they are still mourning the three wonderful children. Including the NIS agent assigned to your case. He was contacted by a doctor from the hospital, an individual we've now proved never worked there as a physician. We suspect the phony doctor was the hospital chaplain who visited you. We don't know yet why he would pretend to be a doctor and make that call, he must have been linked to the murderer, but we do know the chaplain quit and left the hospital before you were discharged. Your teachers, schoolmates, your father's shipmates, your godfather and your uncle, yes, Tim you have an uncle and a godfather, all reported being told of the deaths by Natalie. No one checked with the hospital or any authorities; they accepted her word."

Gibbs stopped for a moment, assessing his kid's emotional status. Hanging on but just barely. He gave Tim another gentle squeeze and continued, "Late last night, Tim, we received the authorization to exhume all the caskets at the burial site in Golden Gate Cemetery. Your mother was moved there from Puerto Rico at some point after the wreck. The exhumation took place a few hours ago and everything is on its way here; Ducky and Jimmy will do the forensic examination to determine identity. Your uncle will be here in a few minutes for his cheek swab. He has not been told, no one we've spoken with has been told, that you and Sarah are very much alive. How you deal with these people is entirely up to you. If you want to remain silent, that's fine. If you want to meet one, some or all of them, that's also fine. Whatever you need to do, Tim, we'll be here for you."

As expected, there was silence as his junior agent processed the news. While he waited for reaction from Tim, he noticed someone had left them a hot pitcher of coffee. Pouring two cups, he placed one just off Tim's left side, then sat back down enjoying his own cup. He noticed that Tim even though deep in thought, was still aware of the presence of the coffee; he quickly had his hand around the cup and took a few sips.

Finally, he spoke, "I, we have an uncle, is he from my mother or father's side of the family, Boss?"

"Mother's side, his name is James Hubbard and he's a Navy Commander."

"Any other relatives?"

"Hubbard mentioned his mother but I don't know if she's still alive. I know from his records that he's married and has two children."

"Huh, uncle, aunt, cousins and possibly a grandmother, never considered that possibility. You mentioned you spoke with my godfather?"

"Yeah, his name is David Crane, an Admiral; he and his wife were very good friends of your parents and stood as your godparents. He was your father's CO on the Enterprise."

"What about Sarah, did you hear anything about godparents for her?"

"No, but Ziva would not have asked for that detail. Both your uncle and your godfather volunteered most of the information."

"And my father's side of the family…anybody?"

"Don't know, Tim, Admiral Crane was the first person Ziva spoke with and he mentioned Commander Hubbard as being your uncle. Since we needed a DNA sample as soon as possible and were able to contact him, we concentrated on him and didn't go any further. After we get the FBI out of our hair permanently, we can start the search for relatives on your father's side…" Seeing the look on Tim's face, Gibbs added, "Or you can do that and we'll help if you need us."

"Commander Hubbard will be here today, soon? I…this changes everything, Boss, I never thought about people believing we were dead. That explains why no one came to the hospital or tried to find us. I've been so angry all these years…"

"I can only imagine, son. And actually, the other thing we found out is what we all saw in the file, that the Aircraft Command Group left Alameda for the East Coast within a day or two after the wreck. So none of your father's Navy friends or shipmates were in the area, Tim. They weren't ignoring you, they didn't abandon you and Sarah; circumstances removed them and they made the mistake of believing Natalie."

Tim nodded, "Easier to deal with, knowing that. Boss, I need to bring Sarah and Rob in on this, but I think I should wait until the FBI climbs off my back. Do you think they'll drop everything today or are we going to have to waste another day with this crap?"

"Hope it'll be today, Tim, but certainly tomorrow when we get the DNA results back."

Tim nodded, still thinking. Thinking back to the conversation on the way to work this morning, Gibbs had a pretty good idea of what was coming next. "Boss, I know I said I didn't want to see or meet with the DNA donor. But this…this changes all that. My uncle and the others were just as much victims of Natalie as Sarah and I were, weren't they?"

"Yeah, that's a good point, Tim. Still up to you."

"I want to meet him, Boss, my uncle. I want to see if I look like him, that's one thing you don't get when you lose your family; you don't have anyone who looks like you. Even though I have Sarah, she and I don't look the least bit alike."

"Ok, Tim, do you want me to tell the Commander while he's here then, or do you want to come in and introduce yourself? "

"God, no, Boss, had enough people not believing who I am! You tell him that Sarah and I are alive and then if he wants to meet me, I'll come in."

"Something else we found out, Tim, you can verify with your uncle. You, Patrick and Sarah are all the biological children of Lily Hubbard McGee. He can explain that to you!"

"That's good, Boss, very good, I'm so relieved she's not related to Natalie!" Tim was smiling, a real smile for the first time since the FBI had walked into the bullpen.

Gibbs opened his mouth and his phone buzzed at him. It was DiNozzo, telling him Commander Hubbard was here and quietly adding that Admiral Crane was with the Commander. Gibbs told Tony to take the two men to the upstairs conference room, and to stay with them until he got there. Then he relayed the information about the additional guest to Tim, who bit his lip and nodded.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Giving the young man's shoulder a gentle squeeze, Gibbs left the room and Tim, needing something to do, cleared the table of all the lunch debris. Then he texted Ziva to see if she had time for a walk, he really needed some personal time with his girlfriend. It felt like weeks rather than a day and a half since they had spent any time together.

Tony was upstairs in the conference room with the guests, so Ziva left him a brief note and texted Gibbs to make sure Tim would not be in trouble for leaving the building without him. Gibbs replied that she officially had temporary custody and with that, Ziva reached the lobby where Tim was waiting for her. They quickly walked toward the river, away from curious eyes. As they walked, they decided to talk about everything but the case.

Tim suggested, now that Gibbs knew about them, that after this mess was over, they first tell Tony and then the others about their personal relationship. At first Ziva thought it odd to tell Tony separately until she realized that Tim was right, he was their partner, their friend. Since their first date, they had feared hurting him; both had worried about his reaction and were anxious to ensure their friendship was not damaged.

They were a trio of friends, not just teammates and continuing that friendship was of utmost importance to them both. Continuing on their walk, they chatted about their plans for the upcoming holidays. Reaching their favorite bench on the river, they sat, holding hands, relishing even that little physical connection after the time away from each other. Ziva blushed as Tim told her of his plans for them after everything was done and he was back home.

After replying to Ziva Gibbs stood, partially turned towards the window of the upstairs conference room. Once he saw his two agents heading towards the river, he turned towards the Admiral and Commander, who had been chatting quietly with DiNozzo. Tony, seeing his movement, paused, pulled on a glove, pulled out the cheek swab and gestured towards Commander Hubbard.

"This will only take a couple seconds, Commander and won't hurt." Hubbard gave him a rather sardonic smirk as he opened his mouth for the swab. "Ok, that's it, now I'll turn the floor over to Special Agent Gibbs, and get this to the lab. Thank you again, Commander."

And with a nod to both officers and his boss, the Senior Field Agent bagged the swab and left the room. Tim's sample swab was already bagged and labeled in his pocket, so he headed straight to the lobby where the courier was waiting. Gibbs waited while Hubbard had a sip of coffee, obviously clearing his mouth of the dry cottony texture of the swab.

"Want to add my own thanks, Commander, for doing that. And also for bringing Admiral Crane with you. Very happy to have you both here."

"Now that the DNA has been taken, Agent Gibbs, would appreciate knowing what new information has come to light."

Gibbs had thought about how to approach this. Since he knew the FBI case was bogus and would soon be thrown out, he saw no reason to mention it. He had decided to pick a piece of the truth and go with it.

"At NCIS whenever there's time, field agents work on cold cases, in between current cases and of course the paperwork. The McGees' case came up for review in conjunction with another case, which is not relevant to our discussion. When my agent contacted the original field agent, now retired, he found some of the information from the agent contradicted what we know. That conversation led to Admiral Crane who mentioned you, Commander Hubbard. And all this is important because in our work we deal with facts. We needed to verify what the agent had said; both of you said the same thing, as did others we interviewed. Each of you told us that all three of the McGee children had died as a result of the crash. That was the new information – to us. We know it's not true. We know both Tim and Sarah are alive. They…"

Gibbs was interrupted by loud exclamations from both men.

"What do you mean they're alive? How? Where? That… can't be, she told us – Natalie told us…"

"Tim had massive head trauma, multiple fractures, for God's sake, he was thrown from the car, how could he have survived that, he was in a coma…how would he have survived that? Sarah was so little, how…where are they?"

"What happened to them? Why would she lie like that? Oh my sweet Lord, how can that be, what has she done to them? Where are they?"

Gibbs gave them a moment to get their questions out and their emotions somewhat under control. He saw that, while both men were in shock, the Admiral was absorbing the information faster than the Commander was.

He resumed his explanation, "They survived; actually Sarah wasn't even with them in the car, she was on a play date at a friend's house. I know they're alive because I know both of them. I've known Tim for about 7 years now and I met Sarah a couple of years ago."

"But there was a funeral, caskets, there's a grave-site for the whole family, I moved my sister's remains there so they could all be together. For God's sake, Agent Gibbs, I've been paying for the upkeep for 20 years, no no, I don't care about that, but who is buried there and where are Timmy and Sarah?"

"The caskets were exhumed early this morning and are on their way here. Our ME team will open them; if we're lucky there will be some DNA, but that's doubtful after all these years. But we do need to see who or what is in those caskets, because it surely isn't your niece or nephew."

Hubbard nearly roared, jumping up from his chair, "Then WHERE are they? I want to see them…please, Agent Gibbs. You have no idea how horrible it's been all these years, to just have my family wiped out like that." Gibbs couldn't help it, as much as he prided himself on his emotional control, he knew he'd flinched, thinking of his own lost family. While the Commander missed it, the Admiral did not as he tugged Hubbard back down into his seat. "At ease, Jim. Let the man continue."

"Sarah is a graduate student; she received her Bachelor of Arts degree at Waverly University last year. Tim," and here Gibbs smiled, "Tim is here, at NCIS. He's a member of my team."

There was an immediate uproar from both men, clamoring to see Tim. Holding up his hand in a gesture to wait, Gibbs walked to the window and peered out, spotting his two agents strolling back towards the building, coffee cups in hand. He sent off a quick text and was rewarded with Tim looking in the direction of the window. Tim stopped as Gibbs motioned the two officers to the window.

"He's on his way in now, been out to get some coffee. See, there." He pointed to Tim who had resumed walking while still keeping an eye on the window. His phone buzzed with a text from his agent, asking him to please stop staring at him. He chuckled and told the other two. "He's on his way up, will be here in two minutes."

"Where have they been all these years, Agent Gibbs, I mean before NCIS and Waverly…who raised them? Natalie?"

"No, she abandoned them and that is their story to tell. He gave me permission to tell you that they ended up in Bayopolis, on the streets. And that Tim had, still has, memory loss from that head trauma; to this day, he has no memory of any of your names or that you exist. When he woke from his coma, he remembered his father, Patrick, Sarah and Natalie and not much else as far as names or faces. He remembers quite a bit about where they were stationed, his father bringing Natalie home and her actions. And a very little bit about Puerto Rico, but the names of people are gone. Over the years, he tracked down his mother's name and his birthplace, but didn't pursue any other research."

The jaws of both men had dropped at Gibbs' words. "What happened to Natalie, then? Why would she do that? And you said…." The Admiral's eyes widened. "Did she have anything to do with the wreck, with Dan and Patrick's deaths?"

"We're investigating the wreck as a murder, Admiral. We've accomplished a lot since we heard the new information, but we're not quite there yet. When we get the DNA results…"

He was interrupted by the door opening, to reveal Ziva.

"Gibbs, is now a good time?"

"Yeah, Ziva, send him in."

Tim entered the room, obviously nervous. He stood close to Gibbs as his boss made the introductions, "Tim, this is Commander James Hubbard, your mother's brother and your uncle."

Tim reached over and shook the man's hand. "And this is Admiral David Crane, your godfather." Tim turned slightly and shook the Admiral's hand. He looked back at Gibbs, who grinned at him. "Gentlemen, this is Special Agent Timothy McGee, son of Daniel and Lily McGee, brother of Patrick, Sarah, Rob and Geordie; uh McGee, I didn't tell them about Rob or Geordie."

He paused as Commander Hubbard opened his mouth to speak, his voice still quavering, "Tim, you look just like you did when you were little, only grown up and so tall! Your hair is a little darker but your eyes and your face…" the Commander choked back a sob, "that scar's still there. Oh son, I'm so glad to see you, to know you're alive, you and Sarah…if you weren't right in front of me, I wouldn't believe it."

Tim gave him a small smile, not knowing what to say, he probably should have offered a hug, but he was nowhere near comfortable with that thought.

Gibbs spoke up again, "Go easy on him; he's had a helluva week, dealing with a classified case. And he just found out this morning that he has relatives besides his sister and brothers, so this is new to him too." He looked over at Tim, "I'm going to check with Ducky. I'll let you know if there's any more news. Call me if you need me."

With that, Gibbs gave a small nod and left the room. The two officers stared at him and Tim tried not to obviously stare back, considering which questions he wanted to ask first. But the first question was lobbed by the Admiral and had nothing to do with any of the revelations.

"Ducky?" the Admiral queried.

Tim blinked, "Doctor Mallard, he's our senior Medical Examiner. Did Gibbs tell you about the exhumation?"

"Yeah, he said the caskets were being flown in from California, not sure why the exam couldn't be done there."

"Gibbs has his own way of doing things, very effective, our team has the highest closure rate in the agency. He wouldn't, we wouldn't trust anyone other than our team and our equipment."

Both men nodded back at him, still staring at him, although the looks of disbelief had disappeared. Tim swallowed, he really wished someone else, someone familiar, preferably Gibbs or Ziva, had stayed in the room with him.

He stood straight and addressed the two officers, "I'm sure you have questions, I know Boss, uh, Agent Gibbs, was planning on just giving you the basics."

"Yes," from the Admiral, "I have questions about the case, but I'd really rather know more about you and Sarah and those other two names mentioned by your boss."

His uncle nodded, still trying to blink away tears, "Yes, Tim, please, tell us about you and Sarah and whoever Rob and Geordie are."

Sighing internally, Tim gestured to the men to resume their seats as he sat across from them. He was trying very hard not to freak out; on some level, he was happy to know these men had obviously cared about them, but he still had no memories popping up about either of them and the whole thing was surreal.

Taking a deep breath, he started, "The day of the wreck, Father picked Patrick and me up from school in the old station wagon, told us Sarah was at a play date and we were going to pick her up and go camping. He told us he'd made a big mistake and that he was proud of us…"

Unnoticed by any of the room's occupants, Gibbs left the door slightly ajar when he exited the room. Standing just outside as instructed, Tony listened as his teammate spoke of the wreck, waking up alone from a coma and Sarah and his subsequent misery. After a few minutes, he slipped away, nodding to the security agent positioned in the hallway. Having heard the growing confidence in his friend's voice, he knew Tim would be fine with his newly found relatives and it wouldn't be necessary for him to barge in on some fictional errand to give Tim a break or even an out. His Probie would be fine, they would all be fine, as long as the team also proved Tim was Tim and things looked very good for that.

As he walked downstairs, he mentally reviewed his task list. He had confirmed the independent lab had received both DNA samples and was processing them. His new buddies in Cybercrimes were doing a Vance approved covert search, to prevent the FBI's detection, for Svetlana Stacevyko's present whereabouts and a warrant was being prepared for her arrest on two counts of murder, child endangerment, abandonment and assorted other charges. His phone tweeped, interrupting his thoughts as he read the text ordering him to join Gibbs and Ziva in Autopsy. The remains of Tim's family had arrived.

Gibbs and Ziva stood aside as the five caskets were rolled into the Autopsy suite. Two adult sized, two smaller, one quite small. Gibbs pointed to the three obviously child-sized caskets.

"Duck, can you…"

"Yes of course, Jethro, I quite agree those three should be opened first. Are you sure you want to be here?"

"Hold that thought, Duck, just a sec." Raising his phone, Gibbs quickly called Vance and informed him that the caskets had arrived and that their ME team was preparing to open them.

"Had a thought, Leon, that Fornell and Sacks should be here, one of them at least, to witness the openings, so there's no possible charge of funny business."

Vance sighed, "You're right, Gibbs. Much as I hate inviting them back in, I'll call Fornell. Better make sure our boy is under protection again."

Gibbs snarled, "GOD I hate this, Leon! Every step forward, we have to take two steps back to accommodate those bastards."

"I'm with you, Jethro, feel the same way. I'll make the call, find out their ETA and then you or I will join Tim in the conference room or wherever he is by then."

While he was talking to Vance, Tony joined them. Ending his call, Gibbs turned to face the group. "Ok, new plan. Vance agrees the FBI should at least be invited to this…" interrupted by groans and a catcall from Tony, he shook his head, "Yeah, I hate it too. But we've crossed every single "T" and dotted every "I" so far, now is not the time to relax. This could be over with today if we keep following the damn protocol. Think about how that would help Tim."

He saw reluctant agreement on everyone's faces, they were happy to help Tim but very unhappy with the FBI agents bringing their nasty accusatory selves back to NCIS.

"Ok, Duck, we leave the caskets sealed until one or both of them arrive. Vance will let me know their ETA. DiNozzo, David, to the bullpen, back to the case. I'm going back up to the conference room to make sure that particular "T" is crossed. "

At Ziva's puzzled look, he clarified, "Need to make sure Tim is in my 'cusTody' when they arrive."

Ziva nodded her understanding and left with DiNozzo. Rolling his eyes at the absurdity of this whole FBI generated nightmare, Gibbs followed his agents to his desk. Grabbing a notebook, he turned to leave, only to be intercepted by the Director.

"Gibbs, they'll be here in 10 minutes, they were on their way back from Bayopolis when I called."

"Ok, I'm just heading up to the conference room now, Leon, come on up if you want to meet the uncle and godfather."

Vance twitched, but realized it would be a good thing; his wife Jackie was always urging him to get to know his agents on a more personal level. This would make her very happy and, he scolded himself, Agent McGee certainly deserved the positive attention. He joined Gibbs and the two men headed back upstairs.

"You don't have to stay, Leon, I'm just going to sit at the table and go over my notes."

Vance blinked, "And what reason are you going to give for barging in on their private conversation, Gibbs? National security? Monitoring your agent?"

"Thought I'd just tell them I need peace and quiet and the conference room is the best bet, to just ignore me."

Vance huffed a laugh, "Only you, Gibbs, only you!"

As they entered the room, they found both visitors exchanging hugs and phone numbers with their reclaimed nephew and godson, in preparation for leaving. Tim quickly introduced Director Vance, who belatedly welcomed them to NCIS, sang his agent's praises to the extent Tim's ears were bright red and thanked the Commander, again, for his assistance.

The Commander's response was a chuckle at Tim's red ears and a warm pat on his shoulder, "Nice to see that hasn't changed either, Tim. Still embarrassed by any praise." Turning to Gibbs and Vance, the Commander continued, "I can't thank you enough for reuniting my family, for giving us a miracle we never even considered possible. And thanks for what you've done for my nephew; Tim tells me you've taught him a great deal and not just about investigating…so proud of him!"

The Admiral chimed in, "Yes; that goes for my wife and me too, Director Vance, Agent Gibbs. This is truly a miracle and even more blessed to see how well Timmy, er I mean, Tim has done, raising his sister, adopting young Rob, getting the education he has and finding a career here at NCIS. His father would be so proud!" Leaning forward, the Admiral continued, "Tim tells us the McGee family case is not yet closed; do keep both the Commander and I in the loop!"

Vance smiled tightly and unknowingly echoed Gibbs' earlier words, "We've made a great deal of progress this week."

The Commander swallowed, then holding onto his nephew's shoulder, asked, "And what of the caskets? Have they arrived, have they been opened yet?"

Vance blinked, not having anticipated the question. "They have arrived, we will be opening them this evening. Please understand that must be done with just our ME team and agents present. It's not something attended by family members."

"I understand, I don't think I want to be there anyway – and I hope Tim won't be!"

Gibbs shook his head, "No, he won't be, Commander. For one thing, it's against protocol but more to the point, Tim's one of mine…" he saw the blink from Vance, "one of ours and we protect our own."

The Admiral caught his slip and quirked his lips at him in approval. Tim tucked his bottom lip in, reining in his emotions. He was back on that emotional roller coaster again, from the high of spending time with Ziva, meeting his uncle and godfather to the crash back to the reality of his supposed death and, worse, knowing his parents' and brother's remains were in the building. He was trying to swallow discreetly past the large lump in his throat when he felt his boss's hand gently squeezing the back of his neck. The man had given him more support this week than he'd felt from him in all the previous years he'd been on Gibbs' team. Aside from the days following Kate's death and he really wished he had not just thought of that. Somehow, he managed to hold it together as the Director, his uncle and godfather left the room, the two naval officers being escorted from the building.

Plans had already been made for a reunion with Tim's grandmother and the rest of the Commander's family, tentatively for Tim's next free weekend, when Sarah and Rob would also be available. Tim knew they would be happy to acquire more family after the four of them had been so alone as children and now as adults. He resolved to write Geordie that evening, knowing it would eventually catch up with their older brother. Turning, he gave his boss a shy smile. "Thanks Boss. I really appreciate all the support and you letting me make up my own mind about meeting them - and also encouraging me to really think about it."

"Haven't always been there for you, Tim, I regret that. Tell you the truth, I never thought you needed me. Never bothered to really get to know you, knew I needed your skill sets, amazed at how well you responded to training but never got beyond the electronic stuff. If I had just read your file, I would have known there was more… would have done better. That's on me, won't happen again. Hope you'll stick with me, give me another chance."

Eyes wide at his boss's candor and at his own audacity, Tim stuck out his hand, "Don't really know who you are right now, Special Agent, but I'm Timothy McGee, very happy to meet you." That netted him a soft version of the 'Gibbs-slap' ending with his boss ruffling his hair as both men chuckled.

"A little sass, McGee, goes a very long way."

"Got it, Boss" Tim said with a grin.

"You mention this to DiNozzo, your ass is grass, got that?"

"Absolutely, Boss, not in my best interests anyway, never hear the end of it."

"Reminds me, I thought of something that might help when he gets too much, turn the tables on him, it will only hurt a little bit…" and the two men quietly discussed the imaginative plan as they walked down to the bullpen.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Tim sat down in his chair in his workstation, trying to remember the last time he was there. He looked off to the side, suddenly remembering Tony's pastry gift the other day, actually that was just yesterday. There was no sign that any pastry had ever graced the top of his desk and he looked over at Tony, one eyebrow raised in what Tony referred to as the McBrow, lower lip out in a fake pout and mischief in his eyes. "DiNozzo, did you REALLY eat my bear claw?"

Tony looked over at him, a guilty look on his face, "Um, yeah Probie, but not until after you left last night, honest!"

Tim continued the McBrow, "Tony, I…" he gave his friend a goofy grin, "I'm just glad it didn't go to waste, that is to my waist!"

Tony responded with an air strike of paper "bombs", stopping only when his boss returned with fresh coffee. Gibbs shook his head, he'd rather die than admit this to his team, but returning to find his two boys up to their usual antics felt better than he ever thought possible. To prove to himself that he had not gone soft, he barked, "Is this my ace team, playing kiddies' games? You all done, DiNozzo? Got the case all neatly tied up with a red bow? Perp in custody?"

"Uh, no, Boss, I was just…" DiNozzo's mouth hung open as he could swear he'd seen something very similar to a smile flash on and off the boss's face. Nah, couldn't be.

Gibbs gave himself a mental pat on the back, attaboy, not soft at all, still got it, can scare DiNozzo anytime, anywhere!

As the elevator doors opened and spat out two men, two unwanted and by now thoroughly detested men, all four of the bullpen residents sat up straight, tension returning to their shoulders.

While Sacks hung back, Fornell managed to take a step into the bullpen before he faced the wall of DiNozzo, David and Gibbs. McGee stayed at his desk, working on a totally separate, absolutely nothing to do with his own, cold case.

Fornell's first remark only earned him more disdain as he pointed to Tim, "Why is he working?"

"Because it's his job as one of my field agents, Fornell." The reply came from behind Sacks as Director Vance approached. He continued, "And you are here only by my invitation, to observe the opening of the McGee family caskets. We'll just wait for Ms. Newell, she's on her way."

"I'm here, Director Vance," called the attorney as she exited the elevator. "Good afternoon Director, Special Agents McGee, Gibbs, DiNozzo, Officer David," She turned to the FBI agents, "Pond scum."

Sacks blustered while Fornell rolled his eyes. "Enough with the theatrics!" He griped.

"Fine with us since you started it, Fornell" Gibbs snarled.

Vance just shook his head. Without a doubt, the decades-long friendship, circling the drain since this started, had now disappeared altogether. He noticed DiNozzo texting something, at his questioning glance, the agent nodded back at him. "Let's just go get this done. Dr. Mallard is expecting us. The sooner we do this, the sooner these two…" and the Director gestured to the FBI agents, "will be out of our lives."

The seven of them trooped to the back elevator, leaving Tim sitting morosely in his chair. Before his thoughts could complete the dive they were threatening, his phone rang. It was his uncle, checking in to make sure he hadn't dreamt the happy miracle. "I know you're working, Timmy…sorry, I'll work on that, but I just needed to hear your voice again, make sure it was real, that you're real."

"I'm real, uh, what did we call you before, Sir?"

"Uncle Jim would be wonderful, my boy, just…wonderful."

"Ok, Uncle Jim, huh, I'll have to get used to that. I'm real, sitting at my desk while the rest of the crew is um…well, they're…" Tim stopped, having to take a deep breath and blink rapidly to get rid of the moisture in his eyes. Field Agents do not cry, especially in the bullpen, he sternly reminded himself.

"They're opening the caskets, aren't they, son?"

"Yessir." Tim managed to choke out.

"If I were just outside with coffee, do you think you could come join me for a few minutes?"

"I suppose, I'll need to…I'll be there in a few minutes, Uncle. Where are you?"

"On a bench overlooking the river, Tim."

"Ok, it'll take me a few minutes."

"No rush. I'm sure you're busy."

Tim hung up and then called Agent Carter. "Rick, sorry to bother you, but would you be needing any coffee or anything? My new uncle just called, he's out on the river bench, asked me to join him. The Feebs are here, I don't want to rock the boat."

"Let me text Jethro, Tim, then we can go, ok? You can come with me to get coffee and then I'll just hang out while you visit with your uncle."

"Ah, that's too much time away from your work, I'm not even on your team, never mind, I'll…" Tim was interrupted by Carter's snort, "Bud, right now you are on everyone's team, you're one of ours! Besides, if there was ever anyone in the history of breaks who deserved one, it's you." Hanging up, Tim walked across the room, met up with Carter and headed for the closest coffee barista and his new relative.

Line Break

When the group of seven arrived in Autopsy, they found Dr. Mallard and Jimmy Palmer standing respectfully to the side of the line of the five caskets. Gibbs, remembering Tim's losses as well as his own, joined them, along with the others, including the two FBI agents. Whatever else was going on here, this was a family they believed had been wiped out. For a quiet moment, each kept to his or her own thoughts.

Lifting his head, Dr. Mallard ended the moment, gestured to his assistant and together they approached the smallest casket.

"We will do this in order, smallest to largest." Ducky decided, "As you can see, each casket has been tagged, if you will, with the name of the person whose remains are in that particular casket."

He gestured for the attorney, the Director and the two FBI agents to come forward and examine the paperwork on the first casket. As they looked closely and then stood back, Director Vance looked at Gibbs, who shook his head. He was not willing to participate any farther than he had to in this travesty. He gave DiNozzo and David a nod to indicate they should feel free to look, but found both his agents fighting their emotions. Tony was examining the ceiling, blinking rapidly; Ziva had reverted to her Mossad training and displayed no emotion at all.

Sighing, Ducky broke the seal of the casket that was labeled as Sarah's and with Jimmy's help, lifted the heavy lid. Inside they found a collection of bones and a teddy bear. The ME looked at the bones and then looked at Jimmy and found the same expression on his face as he was sure was on his own. Before he did anything else, he gestured for Fornell and Sacks to join him at the casket. They came forward again, this time reluctantly and peered in.

Sacks broke the silence, "Those don't look like any human bones I've ever seen!" He turned in question to Ducky.

"You're quite right, Agent Sacks, as they are not human bones at all." replied the doctor. At that, both Vance and Gibbs joined the group at the open casket. Gibbs took one look and signaled to his Senior Field Agent.

"DiNozzo, get the camera, I want photos of each bone in here – shoot the whole interior first. We're treating this casket as a crime scene. Hands off, everyone, until we get those photos."

While he was talking, Ziva had her cell phone out and began snapping photos of the exterior of each of the remaining caskets. Sacks watched her for a second and then joined her, using his phone to snap his own photos.

Director Vance turned to Fornell, "Fornell, while DiNozzo is photographing the interior of this casket, I suggest we proceed to the next one."

"Fine, as long as you share the photos with us, not just the ones from the phone."

"You want something more from us, Fornell?" The growl came from Gibbs. Fornell opened his mouth to reply when he was interrupted by the attorney and by Tony's return.

"Agent Fornell, my client, his employer and I have been more than patient with this circus, but this is the end, we're done. In a minute, the rest of these caskets supposedly carrying these poor children and their parents will have also been desecrated for the sake of your witch hunt. You have no legal standing and frankly, you've handled this very clumsily, expecting NCIS to prove your case for you. If you were in my profession, you would likely have been fired by your employer and certainly up for disbarment."

Catching Leon's eye, Gibbs turned away from the crowd, biting back a grin at the attorney's angry truth. Without any prompting, she had nailed the FBI's Modus Operandi to the wall. Throw it at NCIS and let them figure it out. Drag everyone through the mud and see who comes out clean.

As he started to turn, he caught Tony moving towards him with a triumphant look in his eyes. He wondered if it was the door panel from the station wagon or the DNA results that were causing his SFA such glee. He tipped his head towards Ducky's office, turned and signaled Ziva to continue with the photos, glanced at Leon to let him know there was good news and gave a silent apology to Ducky for leaving the animal bones party.

Joining DiNozzo in the small office, he made sure the younger man was facing away from the door. "Ok, DiNozzo, now you can tell me."

"Boss, it's like the trifecta of evidence, all pointing in the same direction! Only there's only two pieces, Oh, I know, three if there are animal bones in all the kids' caskets."

"Thwack"

"Uh, thanks Boss, won't happen again…ok, here's what we got: 1) the paint transfer on the door of the station wagon matches the paint for the model of the sedan registered to Natalie McGee. 2) the DNA results are in and Commander Hubbard and Timothy McGee are definitely closely related, Boss, enough to be uncle and nephew."

"DiNozzo, do you have the paperwork for the DNA matches on you now and is there more than one copy?"

"Yes and yes, Boss. The lab sent us several printouts of the same results."

"Ok, let's have it, I want this in those bastards greedy hands so they can get the hell out of here and let Tim put his life back in order."

"You going to give this to Vance first, Boss?" Tony cringed, expecting another head slap. "I'm just saying he's been really involved with this."

Gibbs sighed; he really could not wait until he regained control of his own team. Leon's help and support had been invaluable and he knew Tim had also appreciated it, but Gibbs wanted his life back too. He had hated it when Jenny had stuck her nose into his cases, this was a bit different but interference was still interference.

"Yeah, c'mon, let's get these to Vance and Ms. Newell, then see what Humpty and Dumpty do with actual evidence."

The two men left Ducky's office and joined the others. Ducky turned to them, "Jethro, was it your intention to open the Commander and Lily's caskets too?"

"Depends, Duck, what have you found so far?"

"Animal bones in the casket that was identified as Sarah's and in the casket identified as Timothy's as well. The third child-size casket held the bones of a human child; the identification is for Patrick McGee."

Gibbs looked at Ziva who nodded; yes, everything had been photographed. He walked to Vance's side, beckoning the attorney as well. The FBI agents looked suspicious and started to move towards them, to be frozen by glares from Vance, Gibbs and Ms. Newell. Vance directed the other two back into Ducky's office where Gibbs handed each a copy of the DNA results.

The attorney glanced at the bottom of the printout, "Agent Gibbs, is this saying what I think it's saying? Our Tim McGee is the blood relative of Commander Hubbard?"

Gibbs gave her one of his trademark smirks, "Yes, Ms. Newell, the DNA results prove Tim is really Timothy McGee, long lost nephew of James Hubbard. And yes, he's off the hook, the FBI once again roped us into clearing their case."

"Not really, Gibbs," Vance this time, "we don't know what the original case was."

"We also received confirmation of the paint transfer; the color matches to the car registered to Natalie McGee aka Svetlana Stacevyko."

"That's good news, Agent Gibbs, but not proof the woman murdered half that family," the attorney laughed lightly as both men looked at her, incredulous, "I'm not defending her, Gentlemen, I'm just saying that would not hold up in a court of law without reasonable doubt."

Vance gave her a grim smile, "We're very aware of that, Ms. Newell, thank you. We are still working on gathering evidence for the cold case. Just very happy to let our poor Agent out of the penalty box when he's done nothing wrong. It would be interesting," the Director looked at Gibbs, "to discover what the Bureau had going in the first place when they stumbled into this."

"It would be, Director, do you think there's a chance we can find out?"

"I think, Ms. Newell, that those desecrated caskets, the evidence from Bayopolis and these DNA results just might give us the leverage to find out. Gibbs, I suggest we invite the pair up to my office, let's do a little grilling of our own, now that we can afford to. Ms. Newell, as Tim's attorney, I would think you'd need to be there for the presentation of the evidence to clear your client."

"I'd be delighted, Director Vance, and Timothy should also be included."

"Of course, Counselor. Gibbs, will you ask Special Agent McGee to join us?"

"I'll bring him up, Director. I'd like to give him a briefing so he understands its good news and he'll want to know about the remains."

"Good job, Gibbs, and I've been thinking about that. Since the exhumation was necessary to clear the FBI's baseless accusations, the FBI will be paying for that and they will also pay Ms. Newell's fees. Now I wonder, do you think Tim and his family would like free transportation, roundtrip of course, from the FBI to attend the re-burial?"

"I'd think Director, that those flights could be handled by the FBI's private jet and Tim's entire family should be included, everyone affected by this circlejer…" Gibbs stopped himself, "circus."

Ms. Newell contributed her own thoughts, "The grave sites will have been torn to shreds, the headstones likely damaged or destroyed; they will need replacing. Also let's not forget that there will be two fewer caskets going back, they will have to be disposed of."

"Knowing Tim and his work with the homeless, he'll push for the caskets to be donated."

With that, the three conspirators left Ducky's office and joined the others waiting impatiently in the morgue.

When Ducky pointedly cleared his throat and pointed to the Commander's casket, Gibbs shook his head. "No Duck, Tim's family has already been through enough. There's no need. Did you remove the animal bones?"

"Yes, Jethro, and I thought we could have Abigail take a look at them when she returns. She is so adept at finding forensic evidence in the strangest places."

"You'll share the results, Doctor?" This was the first Fornell had spoken in several minutes.

Vance cleared his throat, "Have your director make a formal request, Fornell, and I will give the request all the consideration it deserves. Now, everyone, since we have once again proved the FBI wrong, I suggest we continue with our own work. Dr. Mallard, Dr. Palmer, thank you for your good work and care in this matter. I know Special Agent McGee will especially appreciate the respect given his lost family."

Fornell could barely enunciate the words, "What do you mean, we're wrong, there's no…" he was cut off by Vance.

"Join me in my office and that was not a request." Turning, he saw a glimpse of his MCRT as the elevator doors closed on them. Gesturing to Ms. Newell, the two of them left, the FBI agents still sputtering in their wake.


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You ready? Buckle up and hang on! Fornell and Sacks in the hot seat in the Director's office.

Chapter 12

Reaching the bullpen, Gibbs glanced at his phone and finally saw the text from Carter that he was taking Tim for coffee and a local meet with his uncle. He eyed the clock, surely they would have returned by now?

He turned as he heard a familiar voice, "Hey Boss. How did everything go?"

He looked at the young man, noticing the dullness of those normally bright sea glass green eyes. "Went fine, Tim, you're in the clear, totally in the clear. Director wants us to join him in his office while he explains to Dumb and Dumber just how very much in the clear you are. Ms. Newell is there too. If you have anything you want to say to them, this would be a good time."

"Pretty sure I'd be fired for real if I said what I really wanted to, Boss."

"Don't be too sure about that, Tim, remember Vance already has the complaint paperwork completed, just needs to fill in the dates and submit them. SecNav has already promised to see this through."

Tim suddenly grinned at him.

"What?"

"Just realized the crisis is over and you're still calling me Tim. I really like that, Boss."

Gibbs gave his agent a sad smile, "Then Tim it is, kiddo, just a matter of forming a new habit. I meant what I said."

"I know, Boss, and that's good, I'm glad and I appreciate it. And I know now that I need to speak up when I need help; Ducky and I talked about it."

As they were talking while walking, they quickly reached the Director's suite and with a nod from his Executive Assistant, entered the inner office. They joined Ms. Newell in the chairs to the side of the FBI agents who were seated front and center before the Director. Gibbs exchanged a look with Tim and bit back a smile; the scene reminded him of the principal's office in elementary school.

Surprisingly, Ms. Newell started things off. "Agent Fornell, Agent Sacks, at this time I demand you either present your evidence against my client or drop the charges completely, without prejudice."

Both agents looked at her. "Why should we drop the charges, Ms. Newell?"

Before they could say more, Vance jumped in. "All right, .Enough! You have no evidence, do you? Once again, you have forced this agency to disprove your wildass theory, this time there will be repercussions, Agent Fornell."

Fornell kept trying, "Show us what you have proving his innocence, proving he is who he says he is!"

"Here you go, have fun." And with that Gibbs stood and let the box of evidence he'd been holding drop rather heavily right onto Fornell's lap, at an angle. He wasn't quite sure what was in there, DiNozzo and Carter had put it together. "Oops, must have tripped."

As Fornell tried to push past the pain, Sacks, his eyes nearly popping out of his head, spoke for his Boss, "What evidence?"

Vance replied. "I don't know, Sacks, what evidence did you find in Bayopolis? When I spoke to your boss there…Fornell, do you need Ducky to take a look at you? No?

All right, when I spoke to your boss while you were verifying Special Agent McGee's life story, he seemed to think that the Bureau had acted too hastily. Ring any bells? By the way, my office has received a half a dozen calls from Bayopolis PD and Fire, from some of his former fellow camp residents who remember his arrival and his life there very well.

Tim isn't the only one who went on to serve his country, there are former camp and shelter residents in all branches of the military as well as Bayopolis, Silver Spring and Arlington Police Departments. I haven't got the count and location yet for all the Fire Departments. Some of them I'm sure will also prove to have known Tim during his Bayopolis years."

Sacks remained silent.

Ms. Newell took advantage of the silence. "Nothing to say, Agent Sacks? Legally, you know, since you have shown no evidence or even any evidence of evidence, we are under no obligation to share our findings with you. I demand you drop the charges without prejudice; further, I demand restitution for my client for the anguish you've blatantly and heartlessly caused him."

Sacks struggled, "We had a lead, we had to follow it, it's a matter of National Security…"

"BULLSHIT!" Gibbs finally let out the bellow that he had been suppressing all week. "You had NOTHING; some dirtbag somewhere threw you a line of utter CRAP to deflect attention from their own crimes. And you went for it! Once again you attacked my team, one of our BEST AGENTS on hearsay, NOTHING but HEARSAY! I want to know who, what and why! Who mentioned Special Agent McGee? What was so compelling that you just showed up and tried to completely uproot the life of this young man, my team and this agency and why did you set out on this witch hunt when you already knew how it would end. WHY?"

Sacks sat quietly. He had nothing to say. It was up to Fornell to reveal their source and their reasons. Not that any of it would help, Gibbs was essentially right. It had been a witch hunt taken up without any substance. He knew; Fornell had not said it outright but still he knew, that they'd been under orders; that some other team had stumbled onto a spy and had fallen for the deflection.

Sacks tried to come up with something that would help, but he knew only the truth would suffice and that was not his call. Instead, he decided to try one more thing and spoke quietly to the room in general. "I can neither confirm or deny what you've said, Special Agent Gibbs, that's up to Agent Fornell. But I would ask if we could see or hear the evidence clearing Special Agent McGee."

Ms. Newell spoke, "That's up to my client."

Tim knew there was nothing in the evidence that violated his privacy any more than the rest of the week had already done. Like Gibbs and he supposed the Director, he too really wanted to know the who, why and what behind the FBI's persecution and yes, he finally admitted it felt like persecution. Leaning towards his attorney, he whispered at length to her, she turned, looked him in the eye, whispered to him and then both nodded.

"My client is willing to share the evidence gathered by NCIS to clear his good name and prove his innocence, upon the following conditions:

-the Director of the FBI will give him a notarized written apology, with notarized copies to the appropriate members of government, we will provide a list;

-restitution to be agreed upon is to be paid for his pain and anguish during this absolute travesty of an investigation;

-reimbursement to NCIS for all expenses incurred doing their own investigation; payment in full of my fees, that is, his attorney fees;

-free first class roundtrip transportation, ground transportation and housing for Special Agent McGee's entire family to attend his parents' and brother's re-burial;

-a donation to the Camp and Shelter in Bayopolis, dollar amount to be determined and lastly,

-the information already requested about your source case."

During the attorney's listing the conditions, Fornell had regained his senses. Now he spoke,

"Yes, the charges are dropped without prejudice. I want you, Agent McGee, to know that they were never formalized, never recorded. I can't commit to most of that list, I don't have the authority, but I can commit to the transportation and housing for the re-burial service and the donation. If you'll give me all that in writing, I will present it, with my recommendations, to my Director. I give you my word."

Vance shook his head. "Your word is no good here anymore, Agent Fornell, you've finally worn it out. We'll give you the list and when every condition has been met, we'll present the evidence. I will tell you, since I want you out of here as soon as possible, that Special Agent McGee's DNA is a strong match with Commander James Hubbard, brother of Lily Hubbard McGee, mother of Timothy, Patrick and Sarah.

The empty caskets are further proof that Timothy McGee did not die as a result of the hit and run, he was never replaced by a "sleeper agent". Instead, at the tender age of 9, he was abandoned by his guardian and forced to live a life of poverty and fear, raising his baby sister and adopted brother on his own.

That he rose above all that and came to NCIS to serve his country bears testament to the kind of man he is. Your so called "investigation", Agent Fornell, has been both troubling and insulting, not only to this young man, but to this agency and I look forward to the efforts of the FBI to re-build the trust that's been broken."

Vance leaned forward and spoke slowly and deliberately. "And now, I want you two . , . , do I make myself clear?"

Fornell sighed, this had been a disaster from day one, he wished he had followed his first instinct and handed in his retirement papers. He was afraid he'd lost his closest friend and ruined several decent and valuable working relationships. Not to mention the pain and heartache he knew he'd dumped onto poor McGee, a young man he had enjoyed working with in the past.

He pulled himself up, feeling a hundred years old, "If you'll get me that list, Ms. Newell, I'll get working on it. C'mon Ron, these people want to get back to their lives."

He limped to the door, turning just before he went out, "For what it's worth, I am very much aware of how much trouble this has caused and I am sorry. This affects me too, I've lost your respect, good will and friendship. Tim, it was never personal; even though I had very little doubt that you were innocent, I am happy that you've been cleared.

I wish I…I just wish I'd been clever enough to talk people out of this or just stayed home that day." He gave a grim smile, "Again, I am sorry and I'll do my best to get your conditions met, Special Agent McGee." Sacks gave them all a nod as he followed his boss out the door.

The group sat, wanting to celebrate their victory but not feeling especially happy. Tim broke the silence,

"Ms. Newell, I'm sorry you've only seen Fornell in this light. He's normally a good man, he's a single father whose daughter means everything to him and he's done great work for the FBI. We've worked with him several times and yeah, the times he's accused Tony of murder haven't been fun but somehow we've always bounced back. Mostly, not too sure about Tony." He looked at his boss who sat, lost in his own thoughts. Shaking his head, Tim looked to his Director for help. Vance just looked at him rather sadly, somehow Fornell's apology had left them feeling tired, depressed and hopeless.

Tim didn't like this, they'd cleared his name, he just wanted to get back to work, be part of the team again. He wanted the whole building to stop worrying and resume their normal lives.

He cleared his throat. "Director Vance, I'd like to get down to the bullpen to tell the others and…well, frankly sir, I really want to get back to work. I know the other teams have been handling cases for us while we've been off rotation and I'm very grateful for that…I just…Sir, I want to feel part of the agency again, part of my team. Yes, you all have been wonderful but I feel like this has been a total distraction to the agency and that's not right. I need to work, take some of the work back the other teams have been handling, pull my own weight again; I need to work a crime scene, gather evidence, track down bad guys and help bust them…I want to be useful again."

Vance smiled at him, a real smile this time and jerked his head towards the door, "Go on Special Agent McGee, get out of here. Just stay away from your own cold case!"

With a smile, Tim rose and turned to Ms. Newell. "Ma'am if I ever again need an attorney, or just someone in my corner, I'll know who to call. Thank you so much for everything!"

Saying her goodbyes to the Director and the still silent Gibbs, the attorney followed her former client out the door. After they left, Gibbs pulled himself to his feet. "Been a week Leon, I'm not sure I've made this plain enough to you, but I appreciate everything you've done for Tim, for us. I know, I know, he's your agent too but you've really gone above and beyond."

"I would do that for any of our staff, Jethro. That's part of what makes this agency special. We're small enough to still inspire loyalty to the agency and to each other. I'm just glad we were able to quickly prove Tim's innocence and I know your team will be telling me any hour now that you've solved the McGees' murders.

And it's only Wednesday, Gibbs, can you believe that? This week feels like it's been a month long and we're only halfway through it. I'm tempted to tell you all to take the rest of the week off but I already know your answer – and apparently Agent McGee's! Tell you what, I'll give you all a day off after you've busted this."

"Nah, Leon, the other teams have been working with us, Carter took that triple homicide for us on Monday, Nelson took the drug case yesterday, everyone's been pulling extra duty. Wouldn't be fair to give just one team extra time off."

"They all volunteered, you know, to help out. People haven't known exactly what was going on with McGee, but they knew he was in trouble and everyone wanted to pitch in and help however they could. Maybe we'll rotate an extra day off, I'll think about it. You been doing some heavy thinking though, you ok?"

"Yeah, thinking about Fornell and…well, everything. I don't understand, Leon"

"I don't either, maybe someday we'll know the truth."

Gibbs smirked at him and headed out the door.

As he reached the railing of the catwalk, he stopped and leaned over, looking over the squad room. He understood why this was Leon's favorite spot. From here, you could almost feel the energy, see the teamwork, hear the debates and the urgency as the teams rushed to bust a case, bring closure to families and dirtbags to justice, protect their sailors, soldiers and their families. He smiled to himself as he looked at his own team. His family.

Yeah, as someone else had said recently, they might fight, bicker, pick on each other, but any of them needed anything, the others were right there. He was prouder of them than he had words to express the emotion. He was thankful they'd gotten through this in one piece. Legally anyway, he figured there would be some emotional fallout. He noticed Ziva giving Tim a quick glance and he chuckled. A covert operation, those two, right in front of him, for months! Shaking off his depression over Tobias' actions, Gibbs headed for the stairs.

Tim spotted him first, gave him a shy smile and nodded at him as he loaded yet another search onto his desktop computer. Ziva saw the smile and turned, nodding happily at their boss. Tony, who had been leaning back, on the phone, in the very position Kate had sketched years ago, caught a flash as the man whacked his head on his way by.

"Feet off the desk, DiNozzo! How many times?" With a grimace that might have been part smile, Tony removed his feet from his desk, finished his call and hung up.

"Boss, the Seattle office has located…oops, never mind." He'd forgotten the "no sharing out loud when Probie is in the bullpen" rule dictated by the restrictions on Tim's personal involvement.

Tim smirked at him, then looked at his boss. "I know I can't help, Boss, but does that mean I can't even hear about it? Might be easier if I went to another desk to work. You know, Agent Chapman is out on medical leave, I could go over there, could use my laptop."

Tim tried not to be upset, he knew the team would bust the case soon, but he just got back, he didn't want to have to leave again. Gibbs' eyebrows and the accompanying glare told him he was not going anywhere.

He almost whimpered at The Look, "Boss, it was just a suggestion." Gibbs smirked at him and Tim groaned, knowing he'd been played. "You working a cold case, Tim?"

"Not right now Boss, I'm setting up some searches for Carter's triple murder on my desktop and…" he turned to his laptop, "running financials for Nelson's drug case on here. Once I get everything set up, I'll go back to the cold case I was working."

"So once you get your searches set up, you're waiting for the results, right?" Tim nodded. "Ok, finish getting those setup and running and then, DiNozzo and David, we'll go over what we have. All of us, got it?"

A chorus of 'Yes Boss, Got it Boss and Yes, Gibbs' followed. Tim smiled happily to himself, his eyes lighting up as he thought of just one more search parameter to add to the list.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The reference to Tim's eye color as "sea glass" comes from Colorguard28 in her wonderful "Breathe" universe. As I mentioned in Chapter 1, when you read and re-read your favorite stories several dozen times as I have, details start to stick with you!


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

As soon as Tim had all his electronic devices busily following his search parameters, he got up from his desk and stood in the middle of the bullpen.

"Ok, I'm all set, just waiting for results. So now can you guys fill me in, please?"

Smirking at the nearly desperate tone, Gibbs gestured to Tony and Ziva to present their information.

Tony started by bringing Tim up to date with the Door Panel work by the Seattle office and his work with the Cybercrime unit and the Insurance Company.

"I'm telling you McRealMcCoy, it was beautiful the way it all played out. The blue on the paint transfer matches the blue sedan, that model and that year. Had a hunch earlier and Hal down in Cybercrimes is doing a search for that sedan. It's a Honda, those things run forever, especially when there's no snow, ice or sand involved. It could still be in use so we could get an exact match."

He continued, "Also, we determined that there was no Doctor Potter on staff or attending at the hospital while you were a patient, Tim. There was a Chaplain named Potter, he was hired shortly before the wreck and quit before you were discharged from the hospital. We know that Natalie contacted the Cranes and the Hubbards and told them of your death," here the agent did air quotes, "but an NIS agent would not have just taken the word of a possible suspect. So maybe she paid Potter to play doctor and call Agent Richards with the sad news. Also, I spoke with a Nurse Barbara who remembered you, she said she was very surprised when you woke from your coma, with your injuries, she said the whole staff had been concerned and were very happily surprised when you woke up. You made a real impression on her, Probie!

She remembers walking into your room, the same day you woke, followed the Chaplain in as a matter of fact, and still remembers his shock at finding you awake, she said the expression on his face was not a happy one. Says he mumbled a few things to you and then left, fingering something he had in his pocket. She remembered that little tidbit because later that day they discovered several syringes missing. Our working theory is that he was hired by the killer, Natalie, to complete the job while you were still in the coma, Tim. Sorry, buddy, really glad you woke up that day and that Nurse Barbara interrupted him."

Tim paled at the news, but shook it off. "I just remember the name and some strange man telling me my father and brother were dead and that he would call Natalie. Come to think of it, how would he know Natalie?" he paused, "Of course I have no idea who or what was going on around me those 19 days, do I?"

Ziva spoke up, "There was a register kept at the nurses' station, Tim. Because no decision had been made or at least publicized about the wreck, whether it was an accident or intentional, and because of your age and condition, the hospital was required to keep track of any visitors. There was only one visitor, the agent Tony mentioned, NIS Agent Walter Richards, who was there every day for the first ten days you were a patient."

"But I never saw him after I woke up."

"No," softly spoken by Ziva, "his supervisor believed you would not survive or would be so damaged you would have no information. At the end of those ten days, Agent Richards was pulled from the case; by the time you were discharged, it had been put on the back burner. Weeks after that, it went cold."

"Who was the supervisor, Ziva, do you know?"

"Riley McCallister; Gibbs says he retired years ago and disappeared."

"Worked under him after Mike left; where I first met Leon, we both worked for him. McCallister had a bug up his ass about the Soviet Union. That was his area of expertise and he was always manipulating people and information around to blaming "the Reds" for everything." Gibbs huffed, "Wouldn't have surprised me if he saw a photo of Natalie, found out where she met Commander McGee, decided she was a Russian spy and pulled Richards off the case to see where she led them. Can see him doing that, he was ambitious, thought he should be Director." At his team's looks, he smirked, "Yeah, he was that obsessed, but I'm just speculating."

"Tim, Agent Richards never forgot any of you," Tony offered, "he told me he visits the family grave-site every year."

Tim nodded in appreciation, deep in thought. He looked at his boss, who had moved to his side.

"Boss, in this case I suppose McCallister could have been right. With her strange behavior all the time, the phone calls, conversing in Russian and the package deliveries – and what my father said about making a big mistake. What if he figured it out and confronted her or even just told her he wanted a divorce? She would have been losing a cushy spot, compromised her whole mission." He paused, "Does anyone know where Natalie is now, I mean Svetlana Stacevyko?"

"Got Cybercrimes working on it, Probie. You think she was the one who…"

Tim jumped in, "Yeah, now I do, Tony, it all makes sense when you look at it that way. She must still be spying, maybe she found herself a new employer, and got caught or at least fell under suspicion of the FBI. She was either trying to buy time or looking for a deal by implicating me."

"What a coup that would have been, McTim, for the FBI to uncover a sleeper agent at NCIS! Very 'No Way Out'."

Thwack

"OW… won't happen again, Boss. A little too soon? Sorry, I'll try it again in a couple of weeks, maybe it'll be funny by…" DiNozzo snapped his mouth shut at the glares he was receiving from all three of his teammates.

Gibbs, still glaring at DiNozzo, resumed the discussion, "Yeah, that's the conclusion Vance and I came up with too, Tim. Not our case though; we'll find her and bust her for the murders, but if our theory is correct, National Security will trump our case against her."

"We got anything else?"

Tony hesitated, then shook his head.

Tim looked at him, quizzically. "You have questions for me, Tony? About my family or Bayopolis?"

"Bayopolis, Tim, I'm I just…there's a lot I don't understand and I know it's really none of my business."

Tim sighed, he realized that the others hadn't gotten the whole story and while he was sure Gibbs had warned Tony to lay off, he was also sure the man's infinite curiosity would eventually win over good sense. He looked to his boss again.

"Boss, how about a Team dinner, including Ducky and Jimmy, maybe Saturday? I need some personal time first, but then I can just answer everyone's questions and not be bothered about it at work, ever. Can't wait to be done with this," and he twisted his lips at DiNozzo, "for all time."

The boss growled at his Second, "DiNozzo, I told you to lay OFF! What about that did you not understand?"

"But Boss, he asked…" DiNozzo sighed, "I've done it again."

"Yeah, DiNozzo, you have. But I also remember all the good things you've done this week and besides, I don't think you got to hear the entire saga; so we'll just do it this once and then you can tell Abby all about it when she gets back."

With Tim's challenge to tell Abby, DiNozzo visibly paled; looking at the boss, he saw that was exactly what he would be doing.

Gibbs nodded at him, "Yeah, you will. Ok, team dinner on Saturday, who's cooking?"

Ziva laughed, "I will either cook there or bring the main course, Gibbs. Perhaps Ducky could bring a salad and Tony, you bring dessert. Palmer can bring the rolls."

"What about Probie, doesn't he have to bring anything?"

"No, he's paying for his dinner by answering your damn questions, DiNozzo." With that, the Team Leader stalked out of the bullpen, no doubt on his way for more coffee.

Waiting until Gibbs was out of sight, Tim caught Ziva's eye and quirked his eyebrow at her. She smiled with a quick nod. Tim sat back in his chair and lobbed a paper 'bomb' at DiNozzo.

"Hey, that's my game," Tony grumbled. "Thought you were mad at me."

"Annoyed, not mad. Besides, have a question for you."

"Shoot, well, don't shoot, please…you know."

Tim smirked, "Come out for drinks and dinner tonight? Ziva's already agreed, just the three of us."

"Can't do dinner, got plans, but could do drinks?"

"Ok, drinks it is! Let's hope we get out of here at a decent…" Tim nearly bit his tongue off stopping the words as his boss walked back into their work area.

"Hey Boss, we three are going out for drinks tonight, come join us?"

Gibbs looked up at the sudden invitation and saw the truth of the lie in Tim's eyes. Ah ha, so the last member of the team was about to be let in on their secret!

"Nah, I'll take a pass tonight, guys, maybe next time. Heard Tony say he had dinner plans. Why don't you three pack up and get out of here. Have fun tonight but not too much, call me if any of you need a ride, remember…"

"We know, Boss, it's a 'school night'!" The boys chorused. Ziva just rolled her eyes at them as she slung her pack across her shoulder.

"Ready? Our usual place?" Tim and Tony answered her with grins and joined her at the elevator.

Ziva sighed, "I am so glad this week is nearly over. It has been a trial, no?"

DiNozzo grunted at her, "No Ziva, the whole idea was to avoid a trial. HA! See what I did there, Probie?"

Tim snorted at him and then answered his lover, "Yes, Zee, it has been a trial, I'm very glad that part's over. Now if we can just find Natalie and arrest her, that would be the icing on the cake."

"Cake, what cake, what does cake have to do with a trial? English, pah!" Ziva pretended frustration as she winked at Tim.

The three arrived at their favorite bar and claimed their usual table.

Tony looked around, "Don't think I've ever been here this early and with just the three of us. Feels funny without Ducky, Palmer and Abby." He suddenly looked first at Tim, then at Ziva, "This is a setup, isn't it? You guys going to worm the information out of me?"

The two looked at each other, silently questioning. Then with a mischievous look in his eyes, Tim tilted his head. "You figured out our plan, DiNozzo, so why don't you make it easy and just tell us?"

Ziva grinned, enjoying turning the tables for once on their nosy, uh curious, friend.

"Yes, Tony, tell us what you are hiding!"

DiNozzo grimaced, "Ok, I was going to soon, anyway, but I just…just wasn't sure."

Tim's eyes widened, this was real, Tony had something real and possibly serious going on?

"Come on, man, we're family, your team, you can tell us, maybe we can even help."

Ziva gave Tim a very puzzled look, he made a face and shrugged his shoulders.

"It's Wendy, you know, my former fiancée? She called me a few weeks ago and we've been talking. Not dating, yet, but thinking about it."

Tim whacked his friend on the back, "That's great, Tony…isn't it?"

"I don't know, man, I mean she dumped me practically at the altar. How do we get past that, how do I trust her again?"

"Do you still love her, Tony?" Ziva had swallowed her surprise.

"Yeah, I do, Zee. I never knew what I did wrong, she kept saying it was her, not me, you know, that old line."

"Yes, except for her to have waited nearly until the last minute, Tony, it may very well be true. If she had been upset with you, surely she would have said something to you or broken up with you earlier."

Tim started to talk, then stopped as the server arrived with their drinks. After they'd all had their first sips, he tried again, "So you talk it out, Tony, she needs to tell you what happened and why and you guys need to both be sure it won't happen again. Take it slow." DiNozzo looked up, suspicious, "Wait, you're giving me relationship advice, McGeek? Come on!"

Internally Tim braced himself, here we go! Under the table, Ziva's foot rubbed against his.

"Tony, as it happens, I have been in a loving and successful relationship for quite some time now."

Tony, eyes widened in shock, looked up at him, then he looked at Ziva, back at Tim, back to Ziva.

"You have a key to his apartment and there is no dog to take care of. You two?"

"Yes, Tony, we two. Tim and I started seeing each other just before Director Shepard died."

"But but,…how…when…you were in Israel for 4 months, Ziva."

Tim answered, smiling at his love, "Yes, we made good use of e-mail and Skype."

"And now you have a key to his apartment."

"Actually, it's our apartment, Tony. Shortly after Ziva returned home from Israel, we found a place together."

"Breaking Rule 12! Uh oh, does Gibbs know?"

"Yeah, I told him this morning. Ziva and I were on the phone last night; we realized both our phones – and probably yours' and Gibbs' – are – were – probably bugged. I didn't want Boss to be blindsided by the Bureau, so I told him about us on the way to work this morning."

"This morning? You just told him today? And you lived?!"

"Yes," said Ziva, "He actually seemed…pleased, said we would discuss it later."

"Oh, so you just have a temporary pass because of the FBI's shitstorm on Probie here."

"No, I don't think so, Tony, he seemed to be fine with it, surprised, maybe doubly surprised because he hadn't seen any clues."

"Yeah, me neither, except for the whole key thing the other day." DiNozzo paused, thinking, "Wow, you two are really good, very stealthy! Time for some undercover ops, my man!"

Tim couldn't help it, he just busted out laughing. Tony stared at him for a few seconds and then joined him.

Ziva sat, looking at them both. "I do not understand, what is so funny about covert ops? Is that not what Fornell just accused you of, OH, I see!" and Ziva chuckled along with the men.

"It's not just that..."Tim was still laughing, now trying to catch his breath…"we've been so worried about your reaction to us and then everything this week and now here you are having your own secret do-over with Wendy; it's a good thing we have each others' six no matter what because we really suck at communication!"

"Ah, but we excel at secret keeping, young Grasshopper," countered Tony. He raised his glass, "To my friends, McGavid, may you treasure and keep your love all your long lives!"

The three saluted each other with their drink glasses and drank thirstily. As the next round appeared, Tim raised his glass, "And to our friend, Anthony, may you rekindle your love and trust with Wendy and keep it all your long lives." Again they raised their glasses, toasting each other. The three laughed again as they sipped their drinks and talked of many things.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Coming up next chapter, the reason for the "M" rating - and you thought it was just for language, ha! No underage readers, please!


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

After Tony left, Tim and Ziva finished their drinks and then headed home. After their two nights apart, the lovers were eager to get home and show each other just what they'd missed. Ziva had barely entered the apartment when she was pressed up against the back of the door being quite thoroughly kissed. As the heat built between them, the kisses became scorchingly passionate; Tim lifting Ziva so her legs were around his hips as he pressed his rock hard erection into her. She moaned with pleasure as her lover nipped, sucked and licked her hot spots. Using his clever mouth, teeth and very skilled tongue, he managed to push her top and bra up and gently pulled her arms free so he had access to her breasts. He laved first one then the other with his mouth and tongue. With those elegant fingers holding her up, he still had use of his thumbs and he moved them, playing with her nipples, all the while still making love to her mouth with his tongue. When she moaned that little pant that meant she was close to coming, he stepped up his ministrations, grinding into her and lifting one breast to lick and suck her nipple. With a passionate cry she came, wrapped around him, holding on tightly through her climax.

After resting a bit, he put her legs down and then picked her up, both of them laughing as he twirled them around the living room. Still holding her in his arms, the two entered the bedroom and Tim placed Ziva on the bed, then reached out to undress her. She reached out, "No, Tim, you first. I want to undress you tonight."

He smiled as she got up on her knees and started stripping his clothes off him. Shirt and undershirt went flying and then she stopped to admire him, kissing him slowly. She moved her mouth to his hot spots, sucking an ear lobe, licking under his ears and sucking at the juncture of his neck and shoulders. Running her hands and nails lightly over his chest, lower across his abdomen, she gave his always impressive package a loving squeeze, eliciting a moan of pleasure and near frustration from him. Laughing, she undid his belt, tugging his trousers down and then carefully slid his boxers over his erection, letting them slide to the floor. While she worked on his clothes, he had his hands caressing her thighs and moving up to her crotch, rubbing his long fingers over her.

She hissed with pleasure as his fingers caressed her, then she took a moment to admire him again, while he stood in all his glory, already dripping pre-cum. She leaned over to lick his head and he groaned, "Ziva!" Reaching, she played with his balls and then moved to take him into her mouth. Tim, moaning out a laugh, said, "No, clothes off, sweet stuff, I want to come inside you."

Stepping out of his pants and kicking off his shoes and socks, he watched hungrily as she performed a strip tease for him, removing her top and bra from around her neck, pulling her pants down; when she put a thumb in the top of her panties to remove them, he stopped her with a throaty groan. "No, mine." Pushing her gently so she lay back on the bed, he knelt between her legs, again playing with her through the thin cloth of the only piece of clothing left on her.

He kissed her, using his tongue on the cloth, then raised up and kissed her mouth so sweetly while his hands did wonderful things to her nipples and breasts. Listening to her increasing moans, he finally stopped long enough to pull the thoroughly wet panties off her and then used his fingers and tongue to bring her to her second climax. When she screamed "Timothy, ahuv sheli" through her orgasm, he continued stroking and then slipped his shaft into her. He brought her off once again before he pounded into her, his own climax hard enough to leave him seeing stars.

He collapsed, gathering her in his arms and both lay resting and loving each other. Eventually they found the strength to get to the kitchen and made a quick dinner, which they took back to the bedroom to eat, feeding each other from plates balanced on their stomachs. The meal was never finished, the plates sliding to the floor as their passion rose again. Tim left the bed only once more, to bring back a tray of ice cubes as the night was filled with their pleasure.

Line Break

Gibbs watched his three field agents leave for their drinks night out and wished he could be a fly on the wall to see and hear Tony's reaction. He trusted the three of them, knew that even if at first Tony was bothered, he'd come around. They worked hard at being a team; yet it appeared Tony and Tim didn't have quite the friendship he'd thought they had, not if Tony was still pulling stupid pranks like breaking into the locked drawers of Tim's desk. Thinking about that and what Tim had said to Tony last night;, he decided that the challenges this week might just have proved Tony's real intentions to Tim and geez, didn't that sound girly!

Shaking his head, he turned back to the pile of file folders and papers on his desk. It was still early afternoon on the West Coast; he had wanted to contact Walt Richards since he'd first seen his name in the McGee case folder. However, with having to deal with Fornell's circus, Gibbs' heart twisted a little bit, he'd had to delegate that to DiNozzo. He'd done a great job, but Gibbs still wanted to chat with the retired agent. They had briefly worked in the same office, he didn't know whether the man would remember him, but surely he would remember Franks.

Truthfully, he really wanted to know more about the mystery reference Tony had found in Walt's notes. His gut had been trying to tell him something about that since Tony first pointed it out to him. Or was it the photo? He needed to figure this out.

As Gibbs listened to Richards' phone ringing, he pulled the manila envelope with the agent's note closer to him and found his reading glasses.. When he shook the papers out of the envelope, Tony's magnifying glass slid out with them. Finding the right page, Gibbs was just re-reading the specific paragraph when the phone was finally answered.

"Hello?"

"Mr. Richards, this is Special Agent Gibbs with NCIS, you spoke with Special Agent DiNozzo about the McGee case earlier this week."

"Yes…did you say Gibbs? Didn't you used to work for McCallister? And Franks before him?"

"Yes, I did, sir, wasn't sure you'd remember me."

"How could I forget, you were Frank's protégé, a real pistol. And it's Walt, you know damn well I worked for a living! So now you work with that fellow DiNozzo, huh?"

"Yeah, Walt, he's Senior Field Agent for my team. I head up the MCRT at Headquarters."

"WOW, that's something, Gibbs, guess Franks was right about you!"

"Don't know about that, but I've sure learned a lot from him over the years."

"You still in touch with him?"

"Yep, spent several weeks with him a few years ago and he's come in to consult on a case or two."

"Well, you tell that cowboy howdy for me when you talk with him, will you Gibbs? Now, how can I help you? Do you need more information or you calling to give me an update?"

"Both actually. First the good news, using the information in file and what you told DiNozzo, we've been able to track down that door panel with the paint transfer and matched it with the model sedan owned by Natalie McGee."

"You're kidding me, Gibbs, after all this time?"

"God's truth, Walt. DiNozzo is an ex-cop and he loves digging into things, most curious man on the planet. Somehow he found that door panel tucked safely away at the Seattle NCIS office!"

"How'd he link it, what made him even think of it?"

"Some circumstances we haven't shared with you yet, Walt, had to verify everything first, you know the drill. Anyway, a lot of this information was found on the internet and our Cybercrimes unit helped out. Normally, my junior agent would have done the searching, but he isn't available for this case."

"Whoa, there pal, what unit…never mind, I won't understand anyway. I can do e-mail and find my baseball scores, that's about all I want to know."

"I understand, believe me."

"So what makes your junior agent so special, that he does the searching…on the internet, is it?"

"Yes, he's a field agent and our electronic wizard. A kid you'd be happy to meet."

"Yeah, why is that?"

"Because he's the kid you last saw in a coma 20 years ago, Walt. My junior agent is Timothy McGee, son of the late Commander Daniel McGee, brother to Sarah, also alive and well."

"WHAT? Gibbs, how is that possible? Are you pulling something on me, this isn't funn…"

"No, no Walt, no joke, no prank…you come on out here or we'll set up a video chat so you can see for yourself, Tim and Sarah are both alive and well, thank God."

The older man's voice wavered, "What'd I miss, Gibbs? That doctor who called me, he was lying? The stepmother, whatshername….Natalie, she was lying? I checked back with her, Gibbs, even after that ol' bastard McCallister pulled me off the case."

"The doctor who called you was a phony, not a doctor, we're not sure yet but we believe he was paid by Natalie McGee to call you. She'd told everyone else that Sarah was in the car, when she wasn't, and that Tim had died from his injuries, which he had not. But Natalie knew you wouldn't take her word for it, you would need an official medical report from the hospital."

"Oh my heavens, those poor kids, well, they were lucky then. The other one, the middle kid…?"

"We had a court ordered exhumation done and the bodies shipped back here to DC, I have a crack ME team and I wanted only the best. When we opened the casket that should have held Sarah and the one for Tim, we found animal bones, enough to approximate the weight of each child. The third child's casket, unfortunately, held the remains of a human child, approximately age 8 and the same size as Patrick's last medical records." Gibbs sighed, "We were lucky the two of them survived, Walt, I was hoping that Patrick's casket would have animal bones, too, and we'd find him somewhere, but our luck didn't go that far."

"You did good though, Gibbs. That's why your agent sounded a little off when I spoke of the 3 kids dying. I yelled at him, thought he was either deaf or a moron! You apologize to him for me, will you?"

"I'll pass your words along, Walt, he's certainly not deaf and definitely not a moron! He told me he was pretty much knocked for a loop when you told him that."

"And have you nailed the killer?"

"Not quite yet, probably tomorrow or Friday. That computer unit is looking for her now."

"So it was the stepmother?"

"Yep, afraid so."

"Why?"

"Not sure yet, one of our theories is that the Commander wanted a divorce and she didn't want to lose her cushy Navy life."

"Did you find any evidence they were ever really married?"

"Not yet, still searching for something, anything, but at least 3 other people have also reported doubts about the validity of that marriage. Including McGee's former CO and Tim's godfather, who's now an Admiral."

"Amazing, I may have to call you back to make sure I'm not just dreaming all this!"

"I guess it could seem like that, Walt. I do have a question for you."

"Shoot."

"In your notes, you list the Commander's name and then the kids' names: Timothy, Patrick and Sarah. Next to Tim's name, you wrote "adopted". We're stumped by that and I don't want to bring this up to Tim without asking you, hell, I may never tell him."

"According to what I found out, but never wrote up as it didn't seem relevant – and I should never have left that note in there. Anyway, the first wife, Lily, was already a few months pregnant with Tim when she met Dan McGee. She must have told him right away, anyway he knew and with his full consent his name went on the baby's birth certificate."

"Geez. I don't think Tim knows. His father, er stepfather, never told him. Does his biological father know?"

"No idea, although my gut tells me no. Lily McGee died soon after the second boy was born and from what I was told, Dan McGee was crazy about both boys."

"That's good to know, anyway, Tim was never made to feel different. Who was your source?"

"Lily's brother, the boys' maternal uncle, Hubbard, what was his first name…John? No, James…James Hubbard. Also a Naval officer, don't know what rank he'd hold by now."

"He's a Commander, met him earlier today. Ok, I'll talk with him then."

"Gibbs, wouldn't it be his call to tell his nephew?"

Gibbs chuckled, "I'm not just the Team Leader around here, Walt, somehow I ended up being surrogate Dad to my team."

"Oh ok, I see…, I guess."

"Listen, I'll talk to Tim about this, but I know he wants to meet you. Tony mentioned that you visit the McGee gravesite every year and Tim was touched by that. The remains will be returned to California to be re-interred within a few weeks. Tim and Sarah, other family members, my team, possibly our Director, and some other folks will be flying out for the service. Would you join us? I know the family would appreciate you being there."

Silence, then, "Yeah, I'd like that, Gibbs, I'd really like to meet Tim and Sarah, will make it real for me and maybe I can answer any questions they might have…though not about Tim's father! Let me know when the service will be and I'll plan on being there."

"Good, Walt, thanks for your help, been great catching up with you and I'm glad it was you who worked the case."

"Why's that? I never got anywhere with it, been cold for 20 years."

"Because you still care, Walt and it shows in the case file, your notes, your conversation with Tony the other day."

"Thanks. Be talking to you in the next few days."

"You bet." Gibbs ended the call, scrubbing his hand through his hair. He looked at his watch, amazed that it was only 18:30. Suddenly he felt old, this week had really taken its toll on all of them and he was exhausted. This whole mess…unbelievable and he still didn't want to think about Fornell. However exhausted he was though, he needed to talk with Hubbard without any nosy ears around. Best to make that call now.

Gibbs first took a break to get some of the brown water they called coffee from the break room, then picked up his phone to call Tim's uncle. When the man answered, Gibbs explained he had some questions resulting from information in the file. Commander Hubbard replied that he was eager to help any way possible and suggested they meet for drinks. Realizing he still needed to eat something, Gibbs countered with a suggestion for dinner near the Navy Lodge where the Commander was staying for the duration of his meetings at the Pentagon. Hubbard agreed and Gibbs told him that if he reached the restaurant before him, to go on in and mention his name, he'd be seated.

The restaurant was small and Italian, one of his favorites and he was fairly well known to the owner. Gibbs packed his gear and headed over there; he was not entirely sure Agent Richards wasn't right that he should not be the one asking this question. At this point he was just following his gut and his gut said he needed to know. If asked, he'd tell Hubbard that they needed to know who the father was to be able to rule him out as a suspect in the murders. That's actually true, he mused, we never leave a stone unturned and while this may be just a pebble, it's still information to be investigated and confirmed.

Parking in front of the restaurant, Gibbs saw Hubbard was not yet there, grabbed his favorite table and ordered a beer, breadsticks and his favorite entree. As the server delivered his beer and the breadsticks, the Commander walked in and joined him. He too ordered a beer and an entree, based on Gibbs' recommendation. Gibbs munched on breadsticks while they waited for Hubbard's beer.

"Exciting day for me, Agent Gibbs! And I hope for Tim, too. I decided not to tell my mother, wife and kids until I get home Friday. I snapped some pictures of Tim today, I don't think my mother will believe me without proof!" His beer arrived and he had his first drink, putting it down, he tilted his head.

"You said you had additional questions?"

"Yeah, I do. When we went through the notes from the original agent assigned to the case, we noticed a particular word applied to Tim. Then we got caught up in tracking you and the Admiral down and the reunion with Tim," he paused and both men smiled, "so didn't get back to it until I released my team this evening. I called the guy and he told me what he knew, said you were his source. So here we are. The word was "adopted" and Agent Richards told me that Tim's mother was already pregnant with him when she met Dan McGee, that he was happy enough to adopt the baby when Tim was born and his name is on the birth certificate. I don't think Tim knows about it."

"Yes, that's all true and I agree, I don't think Dan ever had a chance to tell Tim. Why is this important to the murder case?"

"Not sure it is, but we never leave any stone unturned, Commander. This news gives us a new person of interest that we'll have to investigate. Does he know about Tim?"

"I don't know."

"What's his name?"

"Gibbs… Tori never told me so I don't know that either. My mother probably knows but I'll need to ask her in person."

"Tori? Who's Tori, I thought your sister's name was Lily?" Gibbs felt his heart pounding, he wondered if Hubbard could hear it.

"It was. Her full name was Lily Victoria Hubbard. Tori is a nickname for Victoria, my parents apparently started calling her that when she was a baby and it stuck. The story goes that on Tori's first day of school, the teacher called her Lily and she announced that Lily was a grownup name and she would be Tori until she was a grownup. I've been told that when she was introduced to Dan – at a Fourth of July party – as Tori, she told him, no, she preferred Lily. Guess she'd decided she was a grownup! Lily is what Dan and the Cranes always called her. To me and my family, she's always been, always will be Tori. Gibbs…Agent Gibbs, are you all right?"

During his explanation, Gibbs was frantically trying to put the pieces together in his head. He suddenly remembered Tim mentioning he'd been born several weeks prematurely, that his mother's due date was in January of 1978, not November of 1977. Now, with the last mention of Tori becoming Lily, Gibbs had gone as white as a sheet, hands trembling, flat on the table.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 'Ahuv sheli' means My Beloved in Hebrew.


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

"Did she… do you remember if she lived in San Diego before she met McGee?"

"Yeah, for several months, she started college there the winter term, she was there til June, I believe. But her heart had always been set on marrying a Naval Officer."

"You said she met McGee at a July 4th party right? In 1976?"

"It was a July 4th party, yes, but the year was 1977. Gibbs, what's going on with you?"

"I'll have to investigate but I'm pretty sure I know who Tim's biological father is. Commander, sorry to do this, but I need to get back to the office and get to work on this. And please, don't mention this to Tim. He's already got enough on his plate right now – good things, but still a lot to process." At Hubbard's nod of agreement, Gibbs exhaled a sigh of relief.

Their server appeared with their meals and Gibbs requested his to go. Pulling out his credit card, Gibbs reached for the bill, which had been left on the table. Hubbard waved him off, told him a dinner was the least he could do for the man who had brought his nephew and niece back to him. Gibbs nodded his appreciation and when the server reappeared with his dinner in a go box, he grabbed it and nearly ran from the restaurant.

Tori Hubbard, Tori Hubbard, he hadn't known that was not her full name. He'd never even heard of the name Tori before he met her. Oh My God, was it possible, could Tim really be his son? No, he had to prove it before he could even think it, had to run their DNA. They were both in the NCIS system, huh. Could he even do that, legitimately? Tori Hubbard, Tori Hubbard… It wasn't really related to the case. He'd talk to Leon, he'd reimburse the agency, he just needed this done. Needed to know, if his youngest was really his own. Tori Hubbard Tori Hubbard Tori Hubbard…

The name reverberated in his brain like a neon light in the darkness, pounding through him as he drove back to the NCIS Headquarters building. He hadn't thought of her in years, probably since he'd spoken with her that last time. He realized that if he was right, she'd been pregnant with his child, his Tim, then, at that moment, when they spoke. And she knew it and never told him. He pounded the steering wheel in frustration, anger, grief and finally a faint joy. No, can't think of what could have been, need proof. Tim will need proof, he deserves proof.

He found himself in the building not remembering passing through the Gate, parking or even entering through Security. Nearly running across the catwalk into the Director's suite, he paused and knocked on the double doors, hoping his boss was still there. With a sigh of relief, he heard Leon say "Enter" and he pushed in.

Vance looked at him incredulously, "Gibbs? What did you just do?"

"Knocked on your door, Leon."

"I can't decide whether to be scared or worried or both. What…" Vance noticed the pallor of his Lead Agent. "Gibbs! Sit, here, have some water. Let me call and see if Ducky is sti…"

"NO, no, Leon, I'm ok, just need to ask you something and it's very personal."

"Not going to make me go to your team dinner Saturday night, are you?"

Gibbs's laugh sounded more like a sob. "No. Nothing that easy."

"Well, come on, man, spit it out!"

"IneedtohavemyDNArunwithTim'stoseeifthere'samatch. And it's not part of the case." Suddenly he couldn't breathe and his boss moved quickly over to him, forcing his head down between his knees.

"Take it easy, just keep your head down until it passes, Jethro. Just keep breathing, slow and easy, there you go. Concentrate on that." After a few minutes, he was convinced Gibbs was again breathing ok and he let him sit up. "Now, do you want to try that again? I understood DNA and not part of the case."

"It's not, Leon, but I need to have proof before I tell Tim. Oh God, Tim, one more thing he'll have to deal with."

"And you think you're related to him somehow, that's why you need the DNA run?" Gibbs nodded.

"Want to tell me how this came about?" At Gibbs' glare, Vance chuckled. "I meant you deciding the two of you are related."

Sighing with impatience as he realized that this wasn't going to be resolved tonight, Gibbs filled him in on the nearly undecipherable word on Agent Richard's notes, his conversation with him and then with Cmdr. Hubbard. He stopped when he got to the part where Hubbard was telling him about his sister's name. The rest was too personal, Tim needed to be the next person who heard about Tori Hubbard and him. He told Vance that thought and the man nodded, seeming to understand the need for privacy.

Gibbs cleared his throat, "Leon, I know this isn't related to the case, it's personal, I'll pay for the testing, I'll reimburse the agency. We have the fastest lab and the best techs, our system already has our DNA, if I have to go to an independent lab, that's fine but it'll take longer and I don't think I can be around Tim for very long without him figuring out something is wrong or me just blurting it out. And he's had so much to deal with this week, I just…I don't know what his reaction will be."

Gibbs sat back, his worry at war with the joy that was growing in him. He knew it, this was what his gut had been telling him, Tim was his son, his own flesh and blood. Tori Hubbard gave him Tim. He was a father again, a dad. Sitting there, he became lost in his thoughts as Vance watched his agent realize the gift he may have just been handed.

Vance patted him on the shoulder to get his attention, "Tell you what, Jethro, we'll run the tests and then we can talk about reimbursement. And while you're waiting for the results, want you to file all your expense reports and overtime sheets, everything that you've been letting slide, donating your time and money to the agency for oh I don't know, years." He chuckled, "You know, the Accounting Dept. has a special escrow fund set aside just in case you ever turn in all your paperwork."

Gibbs smirked but his eyes gave him away as they were shining with emotion. "Ok, so what time does Ginger get here in the morning?"

"Oh she's still here, Gibbs. Carter's triple homicide broke a couple of hours ago and she volunteered to stay and process evidence tonight. Since you and McGee are in the system, it's just a few commands for her to enter, shouldn't take her more than 4-5 minutes to get set up. Of course, it takes hours to process, so you won't get your results until tomorrow some time."

"Great, Leon, I'll just…does she need your verbal or written authorization to do this, do you…"

Vance hid a smile, the man was practically giddy. "I'll pop down to the lab with you, Gibbs, on my way out."

"All right, you ready now?"

Vance laughed outright; it was still mildly disconcerting but he was starting to enjoy this very human version of his normally stone faced, sarcastic Lead Agent.

Grabbing his overcoat and briefcase, he headed for the door, Gibbs trying not to step on his heels.

Reaching the lab, they found the lab tech studying while she waited for results from Major Mass Spec. When she heard them enter, she looked up, then jumped out of her chair. "Director, Agent Gibbs, I …should I have anything for you?"

"No Ginger, not for either of us. But we have some DNA testing that needs to be run and I hoped you could set it up tonight so we can have the results tomorrow. Do you have time now?"

"Of course, Director Vance."

"Ok, Gibbs…take it away." And with that, Vance bade them a good night and left for home. Gibbs told her what he needed and she quickly set up the search parameter, not too dissimilar from what McGee did, he thought to himself proudly.

After she set it up, Ginger turned to the normally stern agent. He seemed different somehow tonight. She mentally shrugged.

"The results will be ready sometime tomorrow afternoon, Agent Gibbs."

"Great, Ginger, that's great. When you get the results, call me, nobody else here, except Director Vance, is to know about this."

Her eyes widened, the search required identification numbers, which Gibbs had supplied but she didn't know who they were for. "Not even anyone else on your team, right, Agent Gibbs?"

"Especially nobody on my team, Ginger."

"All right then, I'll let you know as soon as I get the results."

"Thanks…good night!"

She called good night as he left.

Gibbs left the building and drove home, his cold dinner resting in the seat next to him. He reached his home just about at the end of his adrenalin rush and moved tiredly from the car into the house, heading to the kitchen and popping his dinner into the microwave. While he waited, he reviewed the events of the day, starting with Tim cooking breakfast, his confession about breaking rule 12 with Ziva, his worry about their phones being tapped, having to be escorted through the building, the arrival of the caskets, Tim forced into Interrogation, the unexpected reunion with Hubbard and Crane, the DNA match, the animal bones in the caskets, the showdown in Autopsy and in Vance's office. Their joy at Tim's proven innocence followed by the depression brought on by Fornell's weary little speech. Tony's infectious enthusiasm about the damn door panel and the color match to the model, he paused, they'd have to remember to acknowledge the help of the Seattle office in their reports. He wondered briefly whether anyone had found the actual sedan, last he remembered somebody, oh Cybercrimes, were searching DMV records to see if was still in use. He mused, if they had that and then Svetlana's current location, they had enough for an arrest warrant.

If they could only bust her before the FBI claimed her for whatever they wanted her for, that would be a coup for Tim and the agency. And best of all, he grinned as the microwave beeped at him, finding out that Tim might be his son! He hoped Tim would be happy, he was suddenly very thankful they had started mending fences this week. He was confident that Tim now knew he loved him as he loved the others, huh, that was going to take some finesse, telling them and…he let the thought go as he poured himself a cup of coffee and sat down to enjoy his dinner. He ate his fill, then put the rest in the refrigerator, poured his last cup of the day as he cleaned up the kitchen and headed upstairs. Passing his antique answering machine, he noted he had a new message, sighing, he pressed the button and listened as Fornell's voice poured out.

"Jethro, it's probably too soon to even try to reach out, but I…I'm hoping that our friendship won't be broken by this. I hope you're out celebrating with McGee and the rest of your team. Ok, that's all I can say, I know it's been a horrible week and it's only Wednesday. Talk to you…well sometime."

Gibbs frowned; he still wasn't ready to think about that. There was so much going on and his family had been hurt. His family. Usually that included Tobias as extended family. One of his best friends, along with Mike and Ducky. He couldn't deal with it now, he needed to take care of his agent, his team and get everything settled and then maybe. But their jobs were dangerous and he knew Tim would be upset, hell, he would be upset, if he put off forgiving Tobias and something happened to either of them. Maybe he'd take the weekend, see how Tim felt, how he felt. He felt a little sick at losing that friendship but Tim came first. For once he wished he knew how to text like the kids did, then he could just send Fornell something to acknowledge his call without running the risk of the man answering the phone. He guessed he could call his work phone when he got up in the morning, little risk of Tobias answering then. Yeah, he thought, straightening up, he could do that much. Feeling better, he headed to bed and slept soundly.


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

Thursday morning. Gibbs woke up as usual before dawn feeling nervous, not a condition he was used to. Before he did anything else, he scrolled through his contacts until he found Fornell's desk phone number, one he rarely contacted. As he'd hoped, the call went straight to voicemail and Jethro left a brief message saying he'd listened to the message, that he wasn't ready to talk, that his entire team needed to recover and Tim was his first priority as the victim of the needless assault by the FBI.

Before he hung up, he added that he was appalled at their actions and frankly disappointed that Tobias would break the trust the two agencies had built working together. After ending the call, he stood there thinking of all kinds of different ways Fornell could have handled the inquisition of Timothy McGee. Shaking it off, he continued with his morning routine.

Line break

Ziva stretched like a contented cat, then looked down to find her lover watching her with that certain look and a glint of mischief in his eyes.

"Timothy, we do not have any extra time this morning, my love."

"Not even for this?" Tim grabbed her, rolled her under him, then rising on his knees, proceeded to attack all her ticklish spots. Once she was writhing in laughter, trying to escape those fiendish fingers, he pounced again, this time pinning her to the sheets with soul-searing kisses.

"I love you, Ziva David."

Matching his ferocity with her own, she stopped long enough to lick under his ear, and tell him that she too loved him. Just as he was leaning down to kiss one of her breasts, the alarm went off. Ziva groaned in frustration and pleasure as Tim completed his kiss, and then jumped out of bed, pulling her with him.

"C'mon, can't be late this morning, you have too much to do."

At her astonished huff, he turned, "What? Not like I'm allowed to help. I'm sure I can find something to do." He gave her a fake pout as he ran for the shower, ducking the pillow Ziva tossed at him.

Line break

Tony groaned as his alarm rang. After leaving the bar last night, he'd had dinner with one of his fraternity brothers then wandered home, watching part of a movie before giving in and calling Wendy. They had talked for hours, about anything and everything.

Wendy told him a little bit about her marriage and divorce, she spoke more of her young son and Tony made a mental note to get some advice from Tim about how to approach the kid. Now that he knew Tim had raised a boy, and Sarah, on his own and as a kid himself, he figured he was the best source for tips on how to act around Wendy's kid. Tony hadn't spent much time around kids as an adult, only through work really, he never seemed to find the right approach.

He spoke to Wendy of his team, how they were like family, told her his favorite things about each of them. He talked a little about their cases, but only the most bizarre ones. They talked and laughed well into the new morning, finally both nearly falling asleep while still on the phone. Now he smiled, he was going to tell Gibbs today, he was nervous and excited.

Line Break

Gibbs arrived at the office, immediately checking his phone messages and amazingly enough, his e-mail. Nothing from Ginger, although he had been copied on something from someone in the Seattle office. He printed that out and then left it face down on his desk without reading it. Trying not to growl as he usually didn't start with that at least until Tony landed in the bullpen, he took off for more coffee and a little chat with his head. He knew he needed to maintain, he was tired and had a lot whirling around in his head.

Anxious about the DNA runs, he also worried about Tim's emotional recovery ,he stopped for a moment to be thankful once again that Tim and Ziva were together. That physical and emotional connection would help. He is concerned with how, when this is over, his team, well Tony really, will see Tim, will there be any fallout from the disclosures about Bayopolis. He realized he still needed to talk to Tony about his teasing and prying into Tim's life.

Ducky had asked him to also include Abby in that "talk" as it seemed he'd found several instances of trouble there. Why hadn't Tim ever told him? Because, he censured himself, he'd never made himself available; the poor kid thought he was on his own as he'd been for so long. And what exactly had Ducky uncovered? Sighing, he returned to his main worry, how Tim will react to the news that he is not a McGee by blood and that Gibbs is his father. That his father, the Commander, lied to him by omission, and that he, his biological father, didn't come to his rescue when he needed him so badly as a child. Sure, he hadn't known and had made an extra effort to make sure Tori was ok, but he never asked her if she was pregnant, did he?

He told himself once again that the past was the past, he couldn't change anything about it; he and Tim would have to work through that somehow and again he's circled back around to how Tim will react to having Gibbs as his flesh and blood father.

Back at his desk, he found Tim and Ziva had arrived and were busily working; both seem suspiciously chipper this morning. With a mental eye roll, he wonders how he had missed that all these months and then wished he hadn't noticed this morning.

He checked his phone, nothing, again his e-mail, nothing. Well, she had said it would be afternoon and it was just now hitting 7 AM. It was going to be a very long morning. Sighing, Gibbs remembered the e-mail from Seattle and picking up the printed copy, read it. As far as he could see, there's no new information, this was a copy of a fact sheet of their part of the investigation, already included in the case's new electronic file, e-mailed as a courtesy to the DC team.

Thinking about that old sedan, Gibbs peered over at Tony's phone; yep the message light was on. Now where was DiNozzo! The boss grunted impatiently, he was already 3 minutes late; he was sick and tired of Tony's continual tardiness, showed a lack of discipline.

Across the aisle from his boss, Tim's good mood rapidly shrank as Gibbs grumbled, sighed, grunted and growled. The junior agent was suddenly terrified the bloodsucking…er FBI had come back for more and threw a near panicked glance at Ziva. Catching it, she tilted her head in question at him, he motioned with his eyes and she took a quick peek at their boss, now muttering to himself about paperwork.

She looked at Tim and gestured towards Tony's empty desk. Tim grimaced back, the boss was that pissed off because Tony was just 3 minutes late? Of course, the Senior Field Agent wasn't actually here yet.

He started as Gibbs barked, "Where the hell is DiNozzo? McGee, call his cell and find out! David, you and McGee have a problem with me, got something to say?"

"Gibbs, we are merely concerned that you seem unusually restless this morning."

Before the Team Leader could growl back at her, Tim threw his fears in the mix,

"Yeah Boss, it's not the FBI, is it? They're not back for more of our blood, are they?"

Gibbs was so mad at himself he wanted to slap his own head. All this worry about everything and he'd put it right back out there on the people he was most worried about.

"No guys, nothing more from the FBI. This is all on me, just want to get this case sewn up and get back to our real work." DAMN it, why had he said that, he quickly followed up, "Not begrudging the time spent solving your family's murders, didn't mean to sound that way, Tim, I'm just still bugged about all the disruption by Fornell. Waste of our time and energy, not to mention a complete…" he saw the guarded look in Tim's eyes and backtracked again, "just want this all to be sewn up, Tim."

Tim nodded without looking directly at him, swallowing the lump that had formed all too quickly in his throat. Grabbing his coffee cup Gibbs stalked off, madder at himself than he had been in years. He hoped his big stupid mouth hadn't just wiped out all the connections, all the progress he thought he and Tim had made this week. This is why he hated talking; words always betrayed him.

Ziva carefully watched her boyfriend. She saw he was upset and trying to work through it, that Gibbs' unfortunate phrasing had hit him hard.

She reached out to him, "Do you want to go for a brief walk, clear your head a little?"

"That's a good idea, Zee; I'd better go by myself, appreciate the offer though. Tony should be here any second; hopefully Seattle and Cybercrimes will come through with the information you need for an arrest warrant."

Taking his jacket, he headed for the stairs. He thought about going to Ducky but thought Gibbs might have gone downstairs to see him, so opted for a coffee run.

Gibbs had also thought of going to Ducky but his emotions were spiraling out of control and too close to the surface; he was afraid he'd spill more information than intended if he started talking with his old friend. Since he had his cup with him, he decided to make another coffee run. It was a chilly walk as he'd left his coat in the office but it helped cool down his frustration and impatience with himself and everything around him.

He got his refill and turned to leave, only to spot Tim in the refill line. If he didn't stop to talk with him, his junior agent would never believe his boss's meltdown hadn't somehow been his fault. He caught Tim's eye and gestured to an open table, one eyebrow hooked. Tim just nodded. While Gibbs waited for him, he called Ziva to tell her where they were. He heard Tony in the background and felt a little more settled. Now his team was all where they were supposed to be.

Tim joined him and Gibbs fiddled with his cup, knowing it was up to him.

"Tim, I'm sorry," glancing at his agent, he saw both eyebrows nearly fly off his forehead, "yeah, I know, but it was weakness. Words and I, we don't get along, I always seem to trip over them. I meant nothing towards you, your family or you and Ziva, yeah; I figured you had thought of that too. Don't usually share this kind of stuff with anyone, especially my team, but I'm kind of tied up in knots right now. No excuse, especially after the week you've had," he huffed, "and I was worried about how you were going to handle this! I should have been looking in the mirror."

"The way I see it, Boss, you were right there with me the entire time. With me, by me, made sure I was ok, worked with Ms. Newell and the Director so I stayed out of FBI custody. You fed me, made sure I slept and I know damn well you sat up with all night with me Monday night, Boss, chased away the nightmares. Drove me to and from work and never gave into the anger and frustration I know you were feeling. I figured you were afraid it'd spill off on me. And if you'll excuse the mushy stuff, while the FBI was trying so hard to bring me down you were right there building me up, making me feel loved and cared for. So don't be so hard on yourself, ok? I just tripped right into old habits; old thought processes and came out here to shake it off." Tim chuckled, "I thought of going to Ducky, but figured you were down there. Glad I came here instead."

"Me too, Tim, me too. I was afraid I might have taken us backwards, that we would have lost all the momentum we've built this week."

"Not a chance, Boss, as I said, it was a momentary trip into my old way of thinking. Now I know, I can avoid it. And geez, Boss, in our work, there's always frustration and you are The Boss, you have the right to bark if we're screwing up."

"Yeah, but you weren't, nobody was. Except me. All right, glad we have that settled. So how are you doing?"

"Truthfully Boss, I'm not quite sure. Overall I feel ok, my brain's still kind of tired, if that makes any sense. I can't decide whether I'm just numb and everything is just waiting to smash into me or if I've had a miracle recovery." Both men chuckled, "It's probably a little of both. Being back home and back in the bullpen has been a big help. Hearing about the progress on the case has helped, just being with all of you has helped, knowing how hard everyone worked, first to clear me and then to solve my father and brother's murders has been a huge help. And Boss, everything you've done for me this week, everything you've said, just you being there by my side, that's what's gotten me through. Then meeting my Uncle and Godfather, Boss I never dreamt that could happen. I was so angry, so bitter after the years in Bayopolis, I'd decided unless there was medical need I was never going to look into our family history. That's probably been part of the balance too, that I've been able to start giving up that anger and bitterness. And I'm kind of wondering now if all that anger was what kept me feeling apart from people."

"Could be, Tim, did with me. I carried my anger for what happened to my girls inside for 15 years; it just made me a bitter unhappy person. You carried yours for 20 years, I think you did better with it, maybe due to your siblings; you had people close to you, no matter how tough it was. Which reminds me, you still need to tell your sister and brothers about your reclaimed family?"

"Yep, should be interesting."

"Going to tell them about the FBI?"

"Yeah, probably, parts of it. Been thinking about that, Boss, about Fornell especially. I hope, I don't…geez...I hope that you will be able to forgive Fornell and go on with your friendship. As angry as I am – and I'm pretty sure you are too – I hate for that to kill your friendship with him after all these years. Please don't let it happen on my account. As we've said, anger and bitterness are not healthy."

"Appreciate the thought, Tim. You think you'll forgive him – and Sacks?"

"Dunno. Maybe. In time. Not sure Tony ever has, think he still holds a grudge. Ziva's forgiven them."

"Yeah but the Iranians did a pretty good job of framing her. With DiNozzo, that first murder charge, with that jerk with the mustache; that was a pretty tight frame. The second one was sloppy work on their part, not as sloppy as this one, but sloppy. And DiNozzo puts his grudge aside when we have to work together. Think you'll be able to do that? Because sure as we need air to breathe, Fornell's going to show up sooner or later with some case he needs us to solve."

"I can be professional, Boss, don't worry about that. I might be as snarky as Tony usually is towards him, but I'll do my job."

"No doubt there, McGee, you always do your job. Well, c'mon, Ziva's in the bullpen alone with Tony. Don't want to find him with paperclips stuck in his head."

As he tried to ignore the irony of his kid having to reel him in from worrying about well, him - Gibbs led Tim in a very brisk walk back to the office. As they exited the elevator, Tony spotted them and started talking, "There you guys are! We have evidence, just what we were looking for, hurry up, uh I mean, uh, oh c'mon Boss. Ziva and I have it all queued up on the plasma and everything." Gibbs allowed a half smile to flash briefly across his face as he walked through to the big screen.

"Ok then, DiNozzo, let's see it."

"All right, here we go. First up, the Seattle office found the car," Tony turned to Tim, "Probie, this is, was the car your stepmother drove. Recognize it?"

"Yeah Tony, looks like it's in pretty good condition actually."

"It is; the guy who owns it is the one who bought it from Natalie after the wreck. Right after he bought it, his employer gave him a company car, so this one was mostly in the garage for several years. He's a car guy, Tim; he collects old Hondas and took good care of this one. When Natalie sold it to him, she gave him a sob story. She told him she'd just lost her husband and three kids in their other car and hated to part with this one as there were so many memories, but needed the money, yaba yaba. So he washed and polished it, but never had it repainted or had the scratches taken out. Said he found initials scratched into the paint. We have a couple of photos of them."

Tim blushed, "Yeah, Patrick and I did that. We did it to make her mad. Brats I guess."

Tony flashed slowly through the photos, which detailed the scrapes where the car had rammed into the station wagon. Towards the end, two photos appeared with thinly scratched initials, TM and PM. Tim had thought it would make him sad but suddenly he remembered the day and laughed.

At the surprised looks, he explained, "I don't remember why we were mad at her, but we were and decided to mark up her car. She really did like that car. Anyway, she caught us at the end; you can see how the M on Patrick's initials kind of curves away. She chased us all over the yard, yelling and we were laughing so hard, then she took the hose to us, don't know what that was supposed to do but anyway, the grass and the concrete were pretty wet and we were still running. She came after us still running and she slipped and fell on the grass, slid all the way across to the patio. Funniest thing I ever saw."

"You were brats," this from Ziva.

"Believe me, we paid for it later."

They returned to the photos with the scrapes. "The forensic tech Seattle uses is testing the paint from the sedan against the door panel. We should hear back any time now whether it's a match."

Gibbs clapped Tony on the back, "Good work, DiNozzo. If it is a match, that's enough for an arrest warrant, then all we need is Cybe…"

Tony interrupted him, "Found her, Boss, or rather Cybercrimes did. They found an address and her cell number and have been tracking her with that. She, or at least her cell phone, has been at the address every evening, guessing it's her home base."

Tim beat them all to the question. "Where Tony, where is she?"

"South Florida." Gibbs opened his mouth to say something when Tony's cell buzzed. He grabbed it and managed to say "Seattle" before he answered. The others waited impatiently, tensions rising. If this didn't pan out, they wouldn't have enough to bring her in.

"Got it! It's a match."

"Good, that's good, DiNozzo, congratulations to both of you, great jobs. Ok, you two get the arrest warrant finalized while I go talk to Vance about bringing Svetlana up from Florida."

Gibbs made a quick trip up the stairs and disappeared into the Director's suite.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The tale Tim tells of Natalie chasing the two boys with the hose is a true story. The two boys across the street from us did something to anger their great big bear of a father. And yep, he slid across the wet lawn to their driveway. I was watching from the safety of my own yard watching and giggling my head off. I was about five years old and I still remember the man's face as he fell and slid on the lawn.


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17

Tim sat in his chair, ostensibly working on a cold case. In reality, he was thinking of his team going to Florida to arrest Natalie, or Svetlana, and bring her back here. He didn't know why, maybe because he couldn't go, but he didn't want any of them to make the trip. He jumped as Ziva set her phone receiver down rather loudly, "Legal has the Warrant, they are taking it to Gibbs while he is in with the Director."

Tim sighed. It was real then, what he had suspected on some deep level for many years. The woman brought into their home to care for and nurture them had instead murdered or attempted to murder the entire family. It also seemed she had been spying all those years too. He wondered why and how his father had avoided vetting her when they married; his next question was whether anyone had ever tracked down an actual marriage license.

Then he wondered when the FBI would find out about their bust and yank her away claiming "National Security". He could only hope there was an actual case there, that if they did claim her, she would be punished as severely as she would have been for the murders. He really hoped that NCIS had her long enough for Gibbs to interrogate her.

At his desk, Tony was planning his disclosure about Wendy. He was sure he and Gibbs would be the ones sent to arrest and transport Natalie/Svetlana back to DC, which meant he would have Boss's ear for the whole flight down. Even if they flew down on a C-130 and back commercial, or the Marine plane both ways, he could still talk to him. Commercial might be a little harder, Gibbs could get up and move around, but he'd want to hear this, wouldn't he? Be happy for him. Yeah, sure he would, Tim and Ziva were happy for him, he was sure the Boss would be too.

Ziva was trying to remember what they had in the refrigerator at home. She was sure she would be sent with Gibbs to arrest and transport the zona to DC as it was common practice to have a female agent assigned for a female prisoner. And it was possible they would get stuck overnight. She wanted to make sure there was decent food for Tim; he tended to get caught up in his writing and forget to eat or eat junk if left alone. Ah well, she knew there were eggs and bread, he was fine scrambling eggs and making toast. She wondered what she would find to talk about with Gibbs on the flights and then shuddered thinking that might be the time he chose to ask her questions about her relationship with Tim. She looked over at Tony, wondering what he was weirding out about now as he slapped out a 'drum solo' on the top of his desk.

Line break

In Vance's office, Gibbs was having a heated argument with his boss. Vance denied them permission to travel to Florida to arrest Svetlana. NCIS had offices in Florida, the nearest to her location was Tampa, and their fellow agents could certainly be trusted to arrest the woman and transport her to DC. He quietly but firmly explained his reasoning. Gibbs, looking thoughtful, quieted. When Vance then revealed some familiar names in the Tampa office, he perked up.

Cassie Yates was now Team Lead and Dwayne Wilson, on loan to them before his time at FLETC a few months back, was her Team Probie. He trusted Cassie, had helped train her when she had been Chris Pacci's Probationary Agent several years ago, and he knew Wilson was a good man, he'd helped save a takedown with some very quick and creative action the days he'd been with them. He told Vance he would agree to the Tampa agents arresting and transporting Svetlana, as long as it was Cassie and Wilson. He didn't know the other member of her team and therefore did not trust that agent.

Vance rolled his eyes and sighed at Gibbs' 'agreement'; typical Gibbs, looked like his Top Agent was back in his usual arrogant form. When the warrant arrived, he signed off and then had Legal fax the warrant to Tampa. That was good; they could arrest the woman and transport her tonight or hold her in their lockup overnight and transport her on Friday. He would ask Cassie to bring her to DC tonight, if possible. Vance would explain the situation; he remembered that Cassie knew McGee as well as the others, that should help persuade her. He started to dismiss Gibbs and found the man had already left his office. Clearing his head, Vance asked his assistant to get Cassie on the line.

Line break

Back in the bullpen, Tony and Ziva sat up straighter when they spotted Gibbs coming down the stairs. He had an odd look on his face that neither could decipher. Tim looked up and guessed that no one from the team was going to Florida and that Gibbs might be relieved about it. Not realizing he'd said it aloud, he was startled when Tony hissed at him. "Stop that, Probie, you don't know that! Don't jinx it."

Tim rolled his eyes at his co-worker while Gibbs made his way back to his desk. "So Boss, which one of us are you taking with us to Tampa this afternoon? We going Marine or commercial?"

"Neither, DiNozzo; we're not going." DiNozzo turned and gave McGee the evil eye. "And stop giving McGee the evil eye; did you see him go up to the Director's office with me? No, well then put a sock in it, DiNozzo."

"But Gibbs, who…" Gibbs interrupted Ziva. "Turns out, Ziva, there are NCIS agents in Tampa that can do the job just as well as us. And we know them – Cassie Yates is Team Lead and Wilson is her Probie. The warrant has been sent to them. They'll arrest and transport her here and then we will interrogate her. We'll be nice and fresh, not having to travel any farther than Dulles airport to transfer her to our custody."

When Tony still seemed disgruntled, Gibbs continued, "Think of it this way, the FBI is probably keeping an eye on us, to see if we've found her for them. Since they don't have her in custody, I'm guessing they had to cut her loose at some point. We stay here and they'll be frustrated as hell, thinking they'll have to do their own dirty work. We may even buy ourselves some time; if they catch us going to the airport, they'll relax, thinking we're off to arrest her and will wait a day or so for our return. In the meantime, we'll have the suspect neatly shackled, uh, tucked away in Interrogation."

"Brilliant, Boss, that's a brilliantly diabolical strategy."

"You'll have to tell the Director that, DiNozzo, his idea." With a smirk, Gibbs took his seat. "What we can be doing while we wait is making sure all the paperwork is done, you know the drill, and prepare for the Interrogation." He looked over at Tim, "McGee, with me."

Tim followed him to his 'office', waited while the elevator started its journey, and then watched as Gibbs threw the emergency switch. "What's up, Boss?"

"Wondering how much you want to be involved when she gets here. I know no matter what anyone says or does, you'll be in Observation. I understand, even though you really shouldn't even be in the building," he huffed, "but I know you better than that. Do you want to see her face to face, and no, you cannot be part of the Interrogation. Think that's going to be me and Vance, tell you the truth."

"So I could see her face to face, at least let her see how much she failed?"

"Yeah, would have to look accidental, in the hallway or you popping in to Interrogation to find me or something like that."

"Yeah, I do, Boss. I thought I never wanted to see those little mean eyes again, but now …."

"Just going to be for few seconds, Tim, no longer, can't risk it. And we never had this conversation."

"Got it Boss; thanks."

As the two returned to their workstations, Gibbs noticed that time seemed to have frozen. It was only 10 AM, hours to go before "afternoon" and the DNA results. He didn't have the patience to tackle any of the paperwork waiting for him on his desk; he stared at his computer, mentally planning his conversation with Tim, when he would reveal their connection. With a start, he realized he had not even considered his own father, Jackson, with whom he'd recently reconciled after many years of estrangement. After he told Tim, he would tell his dad that he was once again a grandfather.

Sighing, he shook himself from his reverie, and he gave DiNozzo a bad time, he was just as bad! and picked up the file on top of the paperwork pile. It was a cold case Tony had broken a couple of weeks ago, this was the final report with notations from Metro PD who had ended up taking the case and busting the perpetrator Tony found for them. Gibbs had returned the file to DiNozzo twice now for revisions to the report.

The next file was Ziva's and Gibbs had returned it to her to correct a phrase she'd quoted from the suspect. He chuckled to himself, a 'Ziva-ism' even in her writing. As with Tony's, the correction had been made and he signed the report. He picked up the next file just as his phone rang. He grabbed the receiver without even looking at the ID. "Gibbs."

"Well some things never change, Gibbs, including the way you answer your phone."

"Cassie, you talk with Vance? All set?"

"I'm good, thanks, been in Tampa for two years now, and yes I love it here."

"Ok, ok. It is good to hear your voice and I'm happy that you're happy." As he rolled his eyes at the social niceties, he glared at all three of his agents who were blatantly listening to his conversation, not even trying to hide their eavesdropping. He turned away from them.

"That's better and yes, I did speak with the Director and we're a go from this end. The intel DiNozzo sent says Stacevyko has been in her home by 1300 every day, so we'll head out close to that time, probably at 1530 to avoid the school buses but get ahead of the early commutes. We'll take the full team; I know you don't know my SFA, Jeff Andrus, but I picked him and I trust him, so you'll just have to trust me. Need to understand that as good as Dwayne is, he is still a very fresh Probie. Now, the timing should work perfectly. Jeff and I will bring her up on Marine Flight #127 into Anacostia-Bolling, ETA is 2000 and Vance has already cleared our travel. You just need to meet us there."

"You staying over or catching a flight back?"

"Staying over, we'll catch the first flight to Tampa out of Anacostia-Bolling tomorrow."

"Ok, if you need a place to stay…"

"Thanks but since we're on military flights, Vance has approved hotel rooms for the night. I do have a question though. About the case, well, really about Tim. Vance told me the basics. How's Tim holding up?"

"Doing ok, wanting this to be over with, frustrated because he can't do anything on it, kind of amazed that we were able to find the evidence we have after 20 years."

"20 years, whoa! Vance said it was a cold case, but 20 years, yeah that is amazing. I gotta go, Gibbs, I'll call you once we've got her cuffed and then see you and your team at 2000 tonight."

Gibbs ended the call and turned to find three exasperated faces staring at him. Huffing, he said, "What, since when do I have to report to you three?"

At the looks, he got, he caved, "Cassie and her team will bust our suspect around 1530 and fly her into AB at 2000 tonight. She'll call once they have her in cuffs." He looked at the clock; it was now 11:30. He grit his teeth, not even noon yet.

"Tony, Tim, go get lunch, wait, call Ducky and Jimmy first, see if they want to join us. We'll eat in our conference room."

"Gibbs, what about Ginger?"

"Good thought, Ziva; maybe tomorrow. She's swamped with a couple of crazy cases; she was here till 2 this morning, probably hoping to get out of here as soon as she finishes today."

"Ok Boss, Ducky and Jimmy are in. Deli, Chinese or pizza?"

"Chinese, please? I only got to have soup the other day."

Gibbs shook his head, "Sure; think we'd better pass on the pizza, DiNozzo, Tim's stomach is ok now but don't want to risk it." Tim blushed as his co-worker glared at his stomach.

"All right, although a good pizza pie could be a good thing for McTums."

They called in their usual orders, adding in Ducky and Jimmy's orders, then the pair left to pick it up. Gibbs snuck another look at his watch. Fifteen minutes, well at least the hands were moving. Ziva rustled some papers on her desk and Gibbs looked over at her.

"I am relieved that we do not have to go to Florida to pick up this zona, Gibbs. Tim would worry about whoever went the entire time. I will be very happy when this woman is locked up tight."

"Do you care who's got her, Ziva?"

Ziva stopped to think, "While I want to see her and hear your interrogation of her, I do not care if the FBI then takes her, as long as she is in maximum security for the rest of her life."

"If the marriage was phony, then she's been living here illegally all these years and if we can't get her on covert operations, she'll probably be deported to Russia."

"Hopefully they will also treat her as a criminal."

"Doubt we'll ever know, Zeevers." At the look in her eyes, he considered, "You think Tim will track her, keep tracking her?"

"I do not know, Gibbs. If it were me, I would want to know that she is as far away from my family as possible, every minute of every day. And I am beginning to regard Tim's family as my family, along with all of you here."

"Yeah, I can see that."

"Gibbs…." she paused, uncertain.

"Just say it."

"This zona, she should not lay eyes on Timothy. She should remain ignorant as to his position, his life."

"Tim wants to see her."

"I do not think it is wise, Gibbs. If she is deported, there are many ways to reach a person or persons across the world without being there in person. And if she is deported, unless she is imprisoned, she may have more ways to hurt him rather than fewer."

"You think she'd be a threat to Tim and his siblings?"

"I think the possibility is there, Gibbs. She has tried to kill him or seriously threaten him three times now; four if you count the beating when Sarah was an infant. Her pride might be seriously wounded if she finds he is alive."

"She'll know he's alive when we charge her with 2 counts of murder rather than 4, Ziva."

"Perhaps. But she will not know where Tim and Sarah are or that Tim is a federal agent."

Gibbs stopped to think this through. "All right, I see your points. Let me call Vance and fill him in. We need to make sure nobody mentions Tim's name while she's here and if the FBI ends up taking custody, they need to keep his name out of the mix too. And I'll call Cassie, make sure she understands."

Ziva nodded, relieved. This had been bothering her since they had realized it was the stepmother who had killed the Commander and Patrick.

Gibbs hung up the phone, "He wants us up there, Zeevers." The two quickly made their way upstairs and were soon explaining Ziva's concerns to the Director. While he sincerely hoped Ziva was wrong, he realized that her experience in Mossad gave her a unique perspective and he chose to err on the side of caution. He sent out a quick e-mail to the Team Leads, including Cassie, and the security personnel who would be involved in booking the suspect on her arrival.

Their bases covered, the two returned to the bullpen just in time as the boys walked in seconds later with lunch. Since he had all day, Gibbs decided he wouldn't tell Tim until later in the afternoon.

The group relaxed the most they had all week as they enjoyed their food. It wasn't hard to find things to talk about other than the events of the week and the arrest happening in just an hour or two. Tony entertained them, as always, with the plot of the latest new movie he'd seen, a remake of a classic.

Listening to him, Gibbs imagined that Tony would have been a great film professor, as his undercover persona had been. Even better, a film critic, yeah, he could see that. Now Tim, he could be running a tech company or be a full time writer. They had some experience with startup companies through a case a few years ago and he remembered that it was much tougher than he would imagine to bring a tech company through its infancy. Maybe Mr. Gemcity would continue his writing and helped fund the tech company. He laughed to himself, no his Tim would not be interested in that, he'd write the books, sure, but he'd make sure his profits were used to help the homeless – the orphaned kids.

Ziva, oh his Ziva. She was a security expert already as well as a 'ninja warrior' and with her knowledge of the complex politics of the Middle East, she could work for the State Dept., hell, she could run the State Dept. He hoped she wouldn't want that though, he hoped she had found her home here with them, certainly with Tim. He envisioned small Tims with dark hair and green eyes and small Zivas with dark blonde hair and brown eyes. The kids would be super smart, that's for sure. Daydreaming, he continued in the same vein, planning on making cradles and cribs, rocking chairs, followed by rocking horses and toddler beds. Oh, he'd need double of some of the furniture, so they could stay over with Grandpa.

He was jolted from his thoughts by Ducky, "My word Jethro, hello! Where are you, dear fellow! What's the matter with him?" Gibbs heard Ducky ask his team.

"We do not know, Ducky, he has not been himself all day."

"He says he's fine, guys, it's been a very long week and he's exhausted, been too worried and too busy taking care of me."

"Oh yes, of course Timothy, well it was certainly all in a good cause, dear boy."

Gibbs opened his eyes and looked at his family. His lips curled into what might have been a smile, "I'm fine, guys, like Tim said, I'm a little tired and the adrenalin rush is pretty much over. Don't tell me none of you feel the same way?"

A chorus of "Yes, Jethro, Boss, Gibbs, Agent Gibbs" answered him. He looked at his watch, much better, 1315, and then around the room, "Ok, time to get back to work everyone. Let's clean up the trash before we leave."

They trooped back out to the bullpen, Ducky and Jimmy heading for the back stairs. Checking messages, Gibbs had one from Cassie letting him know she'd seen Vance's e-mail and would follow the new protocol. Gibbs huffed; he'd need to tell Tony as well as Tim. He started on the pile again and managed to get through three more files before he let himself look at the time. 14:10, now that was real progress. A little over an hour until Cassie's team moved in on Svetlana and any time now for a call from Ginger with the DNA results.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 'zona' means bitch or whore in Hebrew. According to the internet, anyway!
> 
> I wrote the line "Ziva, oh his Ziva" just minutes after hearing the wonderful Cote had not renewed her contract. I know it's a TV show, and I wish Cote the absolute best, but I am still sad. Not angry - its her life and we have no hold over her or any of the others, but definitely sad.


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18

Gibbs frowned as he thought of the hours in front of them. With the plane arriving at 2000 and the interrogation planned to start at 2100, there would be no time to talk with Tim about personal things. It would have to wait until tomorrow. Damn, he wished they weren't having a team dinner Saturday night; he wanted more time with Tim before they told everyone else. Well, Tony, Ducky and Jimmy. Maybe they could reschedule, even Sunday night would be better, and then the weekend wouldn't be chopped up. Of course, Tim and Ziva probably had plans. Huh. Trying not to sigh, grunt or mutter, he picked up another file and got back to work. Good thing Mike wasn't around to see him so distracted, his head would hurt as much as DiNozzo's must on any given day.

Speaking of his senior, where was he? Now was as good a time to tell him about the security change. As he glanced around, DiNozzo came out of the men's room.

"DiNozzo, with me. Ziva, McGee, if my phone rings, just let it go to voice mail. We won't be long."

Ziva, guessing the topic of conversation, just nodded, Tim watched the two men leave the bullpen before shrugging and returning to his cold case. After a few minutes, he gave up, opened his IM program and sent Ziva a message.

"Know what that's all about? Tony going to handle part of the Interrogation?"

Ziva's reply said, "It is probably about security and the interrogation, yes, but I do not think Tony will be part of it. I believe Vance and Gibbs will be handling it."

A second message followed from Ziva, "Tonight is my kickboxing class; I think I will cancel."

"No, no, hon, you should go, that's important and it will help relieve your stress."

Her next message made him chuckle, "Or you could relieve my stress – we can relieve each other's stress, my love."

"Hmm, that sounds good too; I was going to stay and observe the interrogation but I'd rather observe you, close up and personal."

"And I you!"

"Ok, it's a date – at home!"

As Gibbs and DiNozzo walked to the coffee shop, because really, where else would they be going, Gibbs filled him in on the new security plan. Tony was a bit surprised but when he thought about it, it made sense. He promised Gibbs he wouldn't say a word. "More than that, Tony, I don't want you here either."

"Gibbs, I understand you and Vance doing the interrogation, but I don't even get to observe?"

"Not putting any of you at risk tonight Tony, none of you kids."

Tony grumbled and whined until Gibbs pulled him aside, "This is the flip side of me being your surrogate father. I look out for you and you follow my instructions, my orders. Besides, I haven't told Tim yet. When he hears you and Ziva won't be there either, he won't feel so…singled out. He may look like he's handling everything well, Tony, but he's got some big issues and it's going to take our combined efforts to help him through."

Silence, Tony was thinking.

"Think about it, DiNozzo, the FBI basically attacked him, exposed his private life, a very painful one, we reopened his family's cold case after 20 years and he found out his alleged stepmother not only abandoned Sarah and him, she murdered his father and brother. And I'm pretty sure she's the one that threw him to the wolves in the FBI."

"Yeah, any piece of that would be tough to handle, Boss, but all those put together, wow!" Tony hesitated, "I know you said not to tease him about the stuff we learned about him this week, Boss. Does that mean no questions, either? And how come you needed to tell me that in the first place, that felt kind of bad."

"Good, it should have felt bad. He's your friend, right, as well as co-worker?" Tony nodded. "You need to change your behavior with him Tony, the pranks, the bullying…" He held up his hand to forestall Tony's objections. "In his eyes and experience, part of what you've done has been bullying. All those things need to stop, seriously, DiNozzo, they're the actions of a 12 year old boy and you're in your 40's, it's time to grow up. He tells you when something isn't funny, I tell you it's not funny, Ziva tells you and yet you go ahead with it. You need to learn to listen and to think before you act or talk. This is not the behavior I want or expect from my eldest or my Senior Field Agent. And yes, no questions at work, ever, you heard him say that. That's why he set up our team dinner this weekend, which needs to be Sunday not Saturday. Tim said he'd answer questions then but not at work unless it's pertaining to the case, and once the dinner is over, so are the questions - that's it for his past life, it's zipped up again. And one final thing, Tony – if you ever break into his desk or go through his personal belongings again, you'll have my boot up your ass. I do not expect this behavior to be continued but if it is, know there are consequences. Got it, son?"

The look on his eldest's face nearly broke his heart but then he remembered an equally haunted look on Tim's face and that strengthened his resolve. "Look, we're family, Tony and we all make mistakes and sometimes need a course correction. I am not saying to ditch your personality or sense of humor; that would be cruel, unrealistic and unnecessary. You need to temper it, filter it – and really, son, I can't say this enough, learn how to think before you open your mouth or take an action. Having said all that, you did a wonderful job supporting Tim and me this week and I'm damn proud of you for that. I know Tim is too, I'll let him tell you. And Tony, one more thing, Tim was worried, hell so was I, about how you'd take the news about Ziva and him. You sailed through, I'm proud of you for that, too."

Tony felt horrible. Hearing that Tim felt he had bullied him and Gibbs' perception of him as a twelve-year-old hurt. However, thinking over what Boss had said, he passed from horror and shame to relief, although some of the shame stayed with him. He was relieved at the good stuff Gibbs had said and that he wasn't being asked or worse, threatened to be someone he wasn't, he could certainly make some course corrections and he promised himself he would talk to Tim about this later. This was his Dad, he was not booting him out, disrespecting or worse, ignoring him, he was concerned about his family, their family. He smiled; finally here was a segue he could use.

"Thanks Boss, as a matter of fact before they told me last night, they wormed some news out of me, but I wanted to tell you myself."

"What's that, DiNozzo?"

"Wendy contacted me a few weeks ago and well, we've been talking. Matter of fact, we were on the phone for hours last night, like teenagers, Boss!"

"Wendy! I didn't see that one coming, DiNozzo! Do you still have strong feelings for her? And more to the point, do you trust her?"

"Yes to the feelings, not yet to the trusting, but we've talked about it and she's willing to work to earn my trust again. See where it goes."

"Happy for you, Anthony, and proud of how you're handling it. Glad you told me."

"We decided last night that if this gets as far as dating again, we're going to go to uh…couples' counseling." Tony looked away from his surrogate father, again afraid of his censure, knowing of his disbelief in the world of psychology, shrinks and counseling.

He was pleasantly surprised with an affectionate clap on his back, "That's good, son, a smart move. Now c'mon, let's get these back to the others before they're ice cold."

Gibbs was relieved as the two walked back toward the office. He knew he'd gotten his point across about Tony's sometimes roughshod treatment of Tim, without crucifying him and pointing out the good stuff he'd done this week. Duck would be so proud of him. And he'd appealed to Tony's protective sense so that none of the three would be at NCIS tonight. He was blown away about the Wendy news, proud of Tony for being willing to take the chance.

As tough and unpredictable as their schedules were, he had started to worry when his boys and girls had entered their 30s and 40s without finding life partners. He'd hoped for an honorary grandchild or two and if the girls didn't get busy, that wasn't going to happen. Of course the guys could father babies for years to come, but selfishly, he wanted to be young enough to enjoy the little ones and that certainly was true for Ducky as well.

To tell the truth, that was one of the reasons both he and Ducky were so happy and relieved that Palmer had found someone. He momentarily felt a pang for Abby, but then remembered she'd had her chance with Tim and let him go, pushed him away and apparently there was now bad blood between them.

Not going there today he thought as his phone buzzed with a text. It was from Vance, 'where are you? there's news'. He and DiNozzo had just entered the building, so he handed his share of the drinks over, saying "Vance". He took the elevator up to the mezzanine and tried not to run across the catwalk.

Tony took the tray and handed everything out as Gibbs uncharacteristically nearly ran across the catwalk, wonder what that's about, hope there's been no problem busting Stacevyko  
and sat down, looking at his co-workers. They seemed fine, Tim was a little more relaxed, or rather a little less stressed, relaxed wasn't anywhere near him this week and Ziva was humming to herself. Humming? He gave Tim the fisheye and the man's ears turned pink. Tony shook his head at them, grinning and Tim hooked an eyebrow back at him and gave him an "it was nothing, we're not insane" look.

"Hey guys, Gibbs just mentioned something to me; thought I'd bring it up, see if we can make it happen. Don't know why but he's hoping we can move our team dinner to Sunday. Would that work for you two?"

Tim shrugged and looked at Ziva, "It's ok with me, how about you, Zee?"

Ziva momentarily looked confused and then realized where they were, "No, no Sunday plans; that works fine for me." Tony grinned at Ziva's slight confusion.

"I'll give Ducky and Jimmy a call, see if that works for them too."

"Thanks Tony, appreciate it."

"No problemo, buddyroo!"

"I'm impressed, a Hispanic Aussie combination!"

"Thank you, thank you very much!"

Line break

When Gibbs burst into his office, Vance was grinning like a mad fiend, making the older man pull up short. He'd never seen his boss smile like that. It must mean…either the bust was good or the DNA results were.

His heart pounding, Gibbs opened his mouth, ready to beg for information if he had to, "Leon please."

"Cassie called, they got the cuffs on Stacevyko, no one was around, they didn't spot any observers, no stakeout equipment nearby, yeah they took one of the bigger sniffers with them. She's ours, Jethro!"

"For the time being, I'm just hoping your plan works as good as it sounds and we get everything out of her we want."

"You get any pushback from your team?"

"Haven't told Tim yet, wouldn't' be surprised if he already suspected or…" he stopped, having forgotten Vance didn't know about his two lovebirds.

"Or maybe Ziva said something to him, maybe made plans for tonight?"

Gibbs shut his mouth and just looked, not entirely sure his boss wasn't doing some fishing.

Vance laughed, "Yeah, I figured it out, Gibbs. But not until this morning, saw them drive in – separate cars, but there was something about them…"

"Huh, they must have let their guard down because Tim 'fessed up to me the other morning. He called Ziva from his cell while he was staying with me, figured all our phones had ears, didn't want me to be blindsided by Fornell and Company." Gibbs chuckled, "Said they talked for over an hour in Hebrew and English, switching back and forth just to confuse the poor bastard listening in."

Vance chuckled with him, "That's good, I'll have to remember to tell Eli that, he'll be…" at Gibbs' wide eyed glare, he burst into laughter, "Oh so I can get to you, ha! Don't worry, not my job to tell Daddy David, none of my business, I 'know nothing'!" His smile disappeared, "I had Security run a sweep on all your phones this morning. The last tap was removed last night – yep, Tim was right; they had ears on all your phones, including DiNozzo's."

"Need to make sure they destroy those records, Leon, DiNozzo is reconnecting with his former fiancée, if she gets caught up in the FBI's games, even with the phone records…"

"DiNozzo was engaged?"

"Years ago, she broke it off the night before their wedding and I did not just tell you any of this!" Gibbs was furious with himself for gossiping, gossiping!, with his boss.

"Don't worry, Gibbs, I am the soul of discretion. And I've already sent a letter to Director, FBI to destroy all copies of all records, notes, scribblings on napkins, everything pertaining to the witch hunt, including those phone records and stakeout reports, yep, they were staking out McGee's apartment and tried to tow his car from here, without a warrant." He shook his head at the stupidity of any Federal Agency trying to covertly tow the car of a Federal Agent from the secure parking garage of his employer agency.

"Copied SecNav, he should find it interesting as I listed everything they'd pulled on us. Demanded reimbursement too, for our expenses with your team off rotation, detailing McGee's car, after their ham fisted try and our own stakeout …watching the watchers as it were."

There was a pause and then Vance, looking at Gibbs, asked, "Any word from Ginger?"

"No, not yet, but if she called on my desk phone, I've been gone for 20 minutes and no calls on my cell since yours." He pulled his cell out, "Aw crap, I hit the wrong button when I was trying to answer your text, Leon, I turned the damn thing off."

Vance snorted, "You're slipping, Gibbs! So check it now!" He knew the instant Gibbs saw the text as his face went white, then red and he nearly slipped from his chair.

"Whoa, cowboy, take it easy. Here, sit back, have some water." He watched as this hard-assed stone faced sarcastic Marine sat back in the chair, tears rolling down his cheeks.

"Is that good news, Jethro?"

The new father could only nod, totally overwhelmed by this news, this unbelievably wonderful news.

"When you going to tell him? After the interrogation tonight? You have time right now, you know. It's warmer out today, you could take him for a walk or, tell you what, I have a couple of meetings in MTAC. Get him up here and put the 'silencer' on, I'll tell Ms. Cook to make sure you're alone for as long as you need to be. Then maybe take him home or out for dinner, you've got a few hours before you have to be at the airbase."

Gibbs nodded and tried to speak…"Need the print outs…from lab."

"Ok, I'll send a text to Ginger to bring them up here in a manila envelope, two copies, she can leave them with Pamela; you can get them when you're ready." Gibbs nodded and took the tissue from Leon, rolling his eyes a bit. "Nothing to be ashamed of, Jethro, I cried when both my kids were born and I'll bet you did with your daughter."

Gibbs nodded again, he'd cried like a baby when he'd first held Kelly in his arms and knew Shannon was safe after a very difficult birth. He pressed the contact listing for Tim, got an answer on the first ring.

"Hey Boss."

"Need you to come up to Vance's office, just you. Got some good news." With his usual abruptness, he ended the call, looking up at Vance.

"Ginger will bring the results up in about 15 minutes, Gibbs, thought that would give you time to tell McGee, or should I say Gibbs Junior." Ah that was unfair but he really enjoyed those cool blue eyes nearly popping out of his skull like that.

"Speaking of, I'd better get to MTAC." Rising, the Director grabbed his notebook from his desk and headed out the door, hoping to miss the entrance of the new son. He wasn't quite fast enough entering into MTAC before McGee saw him and he stood at the optical scanner, nodding at his agent as the young man walked by, looking perplexed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Credit for the idea of a "course correction" for Tony goes to SmartKid37, recommended for him in one of her wonderful stories and re-used here with her permission (although she says it was my idea in the first place - I've beta'd many of her stories in the past year.).


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19

Tim passed the Director reaching the ocular scanner to enter MTAC and guessed Boss wanted to give him the good news alone in case he had a reaction or something. Had to be Natalie, uh, Stacevyko's arrest. Unless Gibbs had heard more news about the FBI's mystery case.

From below, his teammates watched Tim nod at the Director and continue, looking puzzled, into the Director's suite. No sign of the Boss, so he must still be in there.

Tim stepped into the outer office and Pamela smiled at him and motioned to him to go on in. He knocked once, manners were important no matter what Boss thought or did, and opened the door. He stood, his jaw nearly dropping at the sight in front of him. His stoic boss was standing at the window, his back to the door, sniffling, a nearly concealed tissue in his hand. Tim felt his stomach drop; he thought this was good news, what the hell?

"Boss, what's wrong, what's happened? I thought it was good news, Boss!" Tim reached Gibbs in a few steps and put his hand on the man's shoulder to pull him around; trying his best not to panic.

"Ah Tim, its good news all around, I'm just a bit overwhelmed, son. C'mere, sit down with me, we need to put that 'cone of silence' thingy on."

"Ok, here Boss, I'll do it, yeah, I know how, I designed the damn thing." Tim paused; oops, he wasn't supposed to tell anyone that.

"You Tim? I should have known!" Gibbs gave a watery laugh and Tim looked harder at him, still wondering what the heck was going on.

After they were secure, Gibbs started talking. "This week, Tim, hell, just yesterday, I found out, I never had any idea before, I would have searched for you, son, brought you all home with me."

"Boss, please, what are you talking about?" Tim felt his heartbeat pick up, he had prickles on his arms and his head and stomach were whirling, seemingly in rhythm.

Gibbs huffed, "I need to start from scratch, bear with me here." Tim nodded, of course. "Told you the last time I was in Stillwater, before our case, was in 1976, didn't tell you that's when I met Shannon. We met briefly before but the day I left town for my first posting, she was waiting at the train station with me. We spent the day on the train talking, but she was so young, Tim, she was just barely 17, still in high school. We never dated, her parents wouldn't let her, her mother did not want her dating some hick jarhead; she had plans for her girl.

I left for California in January '77, had been accepted for advanced training; that was the pre-requisite for the sniper training. If I made it through this, I could continue on. Anyway, I believed there was no future with Shannon and I was moving on. Or trying to. In February, the USO threw a Valentine's Dance and my buddies dragged me to it. I met this hot girl, Tori was her name, and we had a good time, dancing and talking. I got her number but didn't call her for a couple of weeks – too much going on with training. Anyway, turns out she had broken up with her high school sweetheart, they'd kept dating for a couple years after graduating, but she wanted more and had moved to San Diego.

She was something, Tori, pretty and smart, loved to laugh. She had her sights set on marrying a Navy officer but the latest batch wouldn't graduate until June, so she figured she was available till June. That sounds bad now, Tim, but really we were just two kids who had a good time together. We knew from the start it would never be permanent, would only be till June or the length of my stay there. No strings.

We were fond of each other, had fun, laughed and talked and yes, we were intimate but as I said, no strings and we knew we'd never be in love with each other. I left for sniper school at the tail end of May although I couldn't tell her where I was going. Gave her my military mailing address, we said we'd keep in touch. My dad taught me to use protection, always and to check back with the girl too. I had a break from my training in August and finally got my mail, which had been chasing me all over the country. I had a letter from Shannon telling me she'd graduated from high school, missed me and realized that it was her life, not her mother's and would I please write her.

I also had a letter from Tori, telling me she'd met the love of her life, a young naval officer she'd met at a Fourth of July party and married 3 weeks later. She sounded very happy in her letter and included her phone number, so I called her. She was glad to hear from me, ecstatic in her marriage and wished me the best. I asked her if everything was all right, hell I couldn't make myself say the words, but she just went on about her new husband and well, I ran out of change for the pay phone, so had to say goodbye. I never did tell her about my letter from Shannon. I figured that since she hadn't told me she was pregnant or any kind of words like that, we were home clear. I contacted Shannon and you know the rest of that story." Gibbs paused and took a breath.

"Fast forward to this week, the cold case, Agent Richards and your uncle. There was a word we couldn't decipher on Richard's notes, something next to your name. Tony dug up a magnifying glass and figured out what the word was. We didn't know whether it was relevant to the case and it seemed likely you would have told Fornell about it if you knew, so I decided we wouldn't mention it to you until the case was solved. Yesterday, after we had everything we needed for the warrant, I called Agent Richards and questioned him about the word. He was astounded and I think maybe he cried a little when I told him you and Sarah are alive. Anyway, he told me what he knew, hang on son, I'm getting there," as Tim stirred restlessly on the couch next to him, "and told me his source was James Hubbard.

I called your uncle and we met for dinner last night. The word next to your name, Tim, was adopted. In a follow-up phone interview, Hubbard had mentioned to Richards that his brother-in-law, Daniel McGee, was not the biological father of the oldest boy, that's you."

Tim couldn't stop himself, "Then he lied to me, all my life, or all 9 years I had with him, why didn't he ever tell me? He lied…" and Tim hugged himself, rocking on the couch, badly shocked and hurt by the revelation. "Who am I then, Boss, I'm not a McGee, I don't know who my father is…I'm nobody."

Mentally thanking Vance for thinking of the need for privacy, Gibbs gathered his boy in his arms and comforted him. "You're not nobody, Tim. You're mine."

"I know Boss and I appreciate that, but…."

"No, Tim, listen to me, you are mine. Literally, flesh and blood, bones, mine! Ginger ran our DNA and it matched, Timothy, we are father and son."

Tim stared at him, his green eyes troubled. "But you said Tori and my mother's name was Lily and my parents or whoever they were, met and married in 1976, Boss, not the year I was born. The facts don't match up."

"I guess McGee lied to you, son, although I hope to protect you, not hurt you. He may not have known who your biological father was and he must have loved you very much, Tim." He stopped and looked directly at his son, "Timothy, we have matching DNA to prove we are father and son. We'll get the dates figured out later; your uncle or grandmother can help us."

"So my uncle knew you're my father? And he met you the other day, he didn't connect..."

"No Tim, when I met him for dinner last night, he verified that you were McGee's adopted son but when I asked him who your father was, he said, 'I don't know, Tori never told me'. That was the first time I'd heard that name since I'd spoken with her nearly 30 years ago. I asked him who Tori was and he explained that was his sister, Lily Victoria Hubbard McGee. Tori's a nickname for Victoria, which I hadn't known before."

Tim finally lifted his head and stared at his boss, no his father. His father! Gibbs was his father. And he was…he was a Gibbs, not a McGee. Holding on tightly to his no longer surrogate father, he wept again, this time happy tears. Gibbs cried right along with him, rocking them both until the tears ran out. Jethro smiled, looking at his boy. "We're probably both a mess, huh?"

"Yeah, I guess. Um, I…what do we do now? I need to tell Ziva and Sarah and Rob and write Geordie, but what do we do? Can I stay on the team?" Tim laughed a little, "Ziva and I talked about what we'd do if you were mad about us being together. Figured she'd have to stay on the team because of Mossad but I could transfer off, hopefully get something here or maybe at the Pentagon, even quit and write full time if I needed to."

"You really thought I would be that upset?"

"Well yeah Boss, Rule 12 is pretty specific."

"Ah but Timmy, it says no dating a co-worker, nothing about falling in love with one."

"Oh, huh. You don't have any rules about fathers and sons working together?" And suddenly there was a huge grin on Tim's face as the news was absorbed farther into his being. "I'm a Gibbs, and I have a Grandfather. Have you told your dad?"

"No, wanted to get the DNA results and tell you first. Vance knows because, well I was kind of freaking out last night about using the lab and I ended up telling him." Tim looked at him, expectantly. "What?"

"Do you have the print out of our DNA results? I want to frame my copy," he laughed joyously, "Going to have to show it to DiNozzo, he'll never believe this."

"Hang on; Pamela should have them by now." Gibbs ducked out the door and came right back with the envelope.

"I forgot to tell you that Cassie's team got the cuffs on Stacevyko, their flight is leaving in another hour. And Tim, I have to retract our deal for you to lay eyes on Stacevyko. Ziva raised some serious security concerns – for both you and Sarah – and I will not put you at risk. When we get the word the plane is due to land, you and Ziva will leave. Everyone involved has been instructed that there will be no mention of your name or even your existence while she remains in our custody. And whatever agency swoops in to take her will be told the same thing. "

"Wow! I suppose you were afraid I was going to track her if she was deported. All right, I wouldn't put either Sarah or Rob at risk, you know that. Anyway," Tim chuckled, "That's what I thought you were going to tell me when I came up here and then I saw you'd been crying." Gibbs put the envelope down and pulled his son in for another long tight hug. "Need to tell you something, can't remember if I did already."

"What's that, son?"

"That first day, when you hugged me, I felt safe, the first time I felt safe since I can remember. My whole life, B…Dad, is it ok if I call you Dad or should I call you Jethro…"

"You can call me Jethro if you'd like but I much prefer Dad. Tell me about being safe."

"I realized I hadn't felt safe, not totally safe, since we went to Okinawa."

"So before Natalie."

"Yeah."

"Maybe when your mother died."

"I think there were people who took care of us in Puerto Rico, nurtured us. That ended when we got to Japan and I never felt that again, until the other night."

Father and son took a few more minutes with each other before Tim drew back, "On a deadline here tonight, Dad," He smiled shyly. "Let's see those results."

Chuckling, Gibbs handed over the envelope and Tim examined the print out. "Oh yeah, I'm a Gibbs. I hit the jackpot!"

Laughing at his goofy kid, Gibbs reached out and ruffled his hair. "C'mon, how about ducking out for a bite to eat?"

"Uh, Bos…I mean Dad, how are we going to do that without going across the catwalk?"

"I'll show you but you may not tell anyone!"

"Ok." They both rose from the sofa but Gibbs turned away from the door and Tim, curious, followed on his heels. Gibbs stopped at the back of the office, just away from the large window, and moved a book on a shelf to reveal a keypad. He punched some numbers in and the shelves slid away, opening to an elevator. He motioned to Tim to enter before him.

"Whoa, Boss! That's…wow, very James Bond. Ugh, please don't tell Tony I said that! How did you, does the Director know that you know?"

Gibbs smirked, "Of course he does. Jenny showed me this when I filled in for her once – when she was in Paris; it's a secured elevator, express to a secured area in the parking garage. Since I was acting director then and later when Vance was injured, I'm on the update list when the pass code is changed. And no, you may not know nor may you try and find out."

"I promise, Dad!" Tim's eyes were still wide with the discovery as they exited the secret elevator into the parking garage and climbed into the Challenger. Gibbs handed his cell to Tim, "Here, how about you send Vance a text telling him we used the 'back way' out of the building. So if Ziva and Tony come looking for us, he can make some excuse."

"Ok, but then he'll know I know."

"'S ok Tim, we both trust you!"

Tim sent the text as they flew through the streets at nearly warp speed to Gibbs' favorite diner. Grabbing his usual booth, Gibbs was thrilled to introduce Tim as his son for the first time, to his favorite server and friend, Elaine. Tim felt guilty at leaving his teammates behind, although he hoped they would understand once they found out about his father and him. Glancing at his watch, Tim mentioned that Ziva and Tony were probably not going to get dinner until the three left for the evening. Catching the hint, Gibbs placed orders for two to go meals they were sure their teammates would enjoy. After they enjoyed their own meals, they took the two extra, paid for everything and returned to NCIS, this time returning through the front entrance.

During their time away, they'd agreed that Gibbs would call Jackson Friday and tell him, then they would tell the rest of the team, including Ducky and Jimmy, on Sunday night at the Team dinner. Gibbs had been pleased to hear Tony had arranged the change from Saturday to Sunday.

"Better make that early, Tim, say 1600, going to have a lot of questions for both of us."

"Ok, sounds good to me, Boss." When Gibbs looked at him, questioning, Tim grinned, "Can't call you Dad in the office, right?" Gibbs nodded, of course. He resumed his familiar stony face in the elevator and Tim rolled his eyes at him. Father and son exited the elevator, trying not to chuckle. They were met by an obviously hungry DiNozzo who managed to ask if the containers were for him and Ziva before he attempted to tear them out of Tim's hands. Then they did laugh and laughed harder when both agents stopped their attacks on their dinners to stare at them.

"Uh, Boss, Probie, everything all right?"

"Yeah, DiNozzo, relieved that Stacevyko is under lock and key and should be landing here in…" Gibbs looked at his watch, "just about an hour. So, you two, finish your dinners, then the three of you, pack up, lock up and get out of here!"

At the stubborn looks from all three faces, he sighed, "Yes, I'll call DiNozzo when the interrogation is over and she's in lockup – or one of the alphabet's swoop in to take her away." The trio didn't move, another sigh, "Or if anything else happens."

Satisfied, Tim gathered his stuff while Tony finished his dinner and Ziva resealed hers, including it with her coat and pack. As Tim stood waiting, between Ziva and Tony's workstations, Gibbs walked past him, gave his neck a quick squeeze and quietly passed him the envelope with their DNA results.

"I'll see you three tomorrow morning, DiNozzo, don't be late!"

"I won't…I'll try not to be, Boss," DiNozzo called after him, "Good luck!"

The three looked at each other. Typically, Tony was the first to speak. "This is weird; I don't like leaving him without one of us on his six."

"Agreed, but the Director will be with him as will Carter, O'Brien and Agent Yates and her team."

"Still not us, Ziva."

"Yes, Tim, I know, but this time it is necessary."

"Freakin' FBI." Tim muttered as they moved into the elevator.

"What are you two doing tonight, UGH, forget I asked, really…please!" Tim and Ziva exchanged a look and silently agreed.

"DiNozzo, want to come over for a movie night? We have popcorn and beer."

"Yeah, actually that sounds good, I told Wendy I was busy tonight, thought we'd be on this detail ourselves."

"Wait, if you hadn't said that, would you two have gone out?"

"No, not yet and not on a school night."

At his friends' incredulous looks, when had that ever stopped Tony, he laughed and then explained, "Her son's school night, guys, not ours! He's been having some problems and she wants to make sure she's there to help with his homework and that he gets to bed at a decent hour."

Exiting the elevator into the parking garage, Tim looked sideways but could see no evidence of the secured elevator or entrance that he and his Da…Boss had used earlier.

"How about I follow you, McCareful? I know Ziva will be her usual speed demon self." An attempted denial by Ziva only brought more laughter from the two men. Reaching their respective vehicles, the three drove off into the night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Credit for the Director's secret elevator goes to Emerald1, used here with her permission (thanks!). She created it for a more exciting purpose than sneaking out to dinner, in her wonderful story "Echoes of Goodbye".


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter 20

Gibbs was back in the bullpen, gathering his notes and his thoughts on the pending arrival and interrogation. He wanted to know why; why this woman had killed both Commander McGee and Patrick and then lied about the other two. He also intended to question her about the status of Tim and Sarah. He was not going to reveal any knowledge of her abandonment, not at first, anyway, they had enough evidence from the hospital that Tim had lived. He wouldn't reveal anything until he had to, likely when the charges were read to her. They were treating her not just as a murderer but also as a spy or terrorist. He didn't really care which, both came under the Patriot Act and she would not rate a lawyer, so if her Miranda rights had been read to her, they were really null and void. He knew Vance had talked to his gurus in Legal about all that, so he wasn't worried.

In anticipation of the FBI watching his movements, he'd tucked the Challenger in the back of the parking garage, away from the cameras. They would take two agency vehicles to the airfield tonight, and Vance would stay behind at the office. Gibbs would be a passenger, another attempt to throw off anyone who might be watching and knew Gibbs always drove. The hope was that their watchers would think Gibbs and the other agent were flying off somewhere in pursuit of Stacevyko. And the airfield was heavily secured, physically and electronically; the standard snooping equipment the FBI used wouldn't penetrate. He remembered that Tim had disabled his GPS and that his kids, he smiled as he thought that Tim really was his kid, had also disabled theirs before they left NCIS.

He looked at his watch, it was time. He grabbed his coat and a knit cap he kept in his desk, he'd wear that on his way back, and joined Carter and O'Brien at the elevator. Rick smiled at him, "Looking forward to this, aren't you, Jethro?"

"You bet! Bitch killed my agent's father and brother, tried to kill him a couple of times. She's got a lot to answer for and we have plenty of evidence to wave in her face."

O'Brien laughed, "I don't think I've ever seen you quite so smug, Gibbs." Gibbs shook his head as they boarded the elevator.

"I shouldn't be, man, not until this is over and she's in our lockup."

"Vance tells me the alphabets might be after her too, they might show up here tonight."

"Yeah, I just want my answers first, not much we can do if the National Security card gets played."

"You think it will be, is that what Ti…never mind, forget I even went there. I don't even know his name tonight!"

"Appreciate that. Yeah, probably gone overboard on keeping all three of them out of this, but didn't want to take any chances. Besides, can't be held responsible for what they'd do if they saw Fornell or Sacks again." The other two nodded as they split up to go to the two agency sedans.

Gibbs was quiet as Carter drove to the airfield. They had plenty of time so he was not feeling impatient, well, no more than was usual for him anyway. He sat back, closing his eyes thinking about Tim, that he and his kid already care about each other, truthfully, they love each other as father and son. Yeah, this is a big step, but it's not as if they're strangers and thankfully had gotten to know each other better this week. Gibbs realized that he already regarded Sarah, Rob and …Georgie, no Geordie as his too. Hmm, he'd best stick with Tim and then worry about the others later.

He couldn't wait to call Jack; tell Ducky and the others on Sunday and call Mike too. Not Tobias though, not now, maybe not ever although he'd keep in mind what Tim said. With thoughts of Fornell and Tim, he opened his eyes and sat up straight, realizing they were almost at the airfield. Time to focus! Carter noticed his movement and pointed skyward; Jethro could just see the large cargo plane making its descent. "We're right on time, Jethro, we'll be in place when they deplane."

Gibbs grunted, "I should have been keeping an eye out for a tail, Rick. You notice any?"

"No and neither did O'Brien. We might actually be clear."

"Either that or they've finally learned how to follow covertly." Both men snorted at that. Gibbs remembered the two FBI agents who'd tailed him once, years ago when his former CO had had some trouble. That had been on foot and the two might as well have carried signboards announcing their intentions, they were so obvious.

The agents passed Security at the gate with no problem; they were directed to park the cars some distance from the runway. Once the passengers were off the plane, they would formally take custody of the prisoner, then Carter and O'Brien would retrieve the vehicles while Gibbs stayed with the prisoner along with the Tampa team. Gibbs had a sneaking suspicion Vance had arranged for extra Marine security and was not surprised when he spotted a Marine sniper behind a large air conditioning unit. That was good, that's where he would have positioned himself.

He felt his Sig at his side, his backup at his left ankle and his knife safely sheathed on his right calf. He was ready. Although all this for one person was likely overkill and the only danger was probably from another Federal Agency swooping in. They wouldn't clear the gate though.

The massive plane landed and the three agents waited until signaled by the ground crew that it was safe to approach. As the ramp lowered, he saw Cassie's familiar face, noticing her once long hair was in a new fancy short cut, and what had to be her Senior and a surly, rather wild looking woman in an orange jumpsuit, her cuffed hands in front of her with a chain reaching from elbow to elbow, limiting her movements.

Then he noticed something strange, apparently she must have verbally annoyed someone as she wore a thick strip of duct tape across her mouth. Following his glance, Cassie smirked and walking down the ramp, guiding the prisoner, said, "She not only yells, she spits." Gibbs nodded in understanding. Cassie greeted Carter and O'Brien who also remembered her from her Probie days, and then introduced her Senior, something Andrus, Gibbs didn't catch his first name. He nodded at him and then formally accepted custody of the prisoner, Svetlana Stacevyko.

Carter and O'Brien went for the cars; the others stood waiting. Cassie and Andrus had their go bags and both of them, as soon as custody was transferred, dove into them, retrieving jackets and in Cassie's case, a knit cap. It was a pretty blue and Gibbs recognized it. He huffed at Cassie, "You still have that, Chris would be pleased. He fretted for weeks about what to get you that Christmas. Nearly drove me insane."

"I can't believe you remember."

Gibbs chuckled, "I can't either, tell you the truth."

Cassie eyed him, "What's different?"

He shrugged a shoulder. "Nothing much, just glad she's in our custody."

Cassie gave him another look, then smiled, "Yeah, she's not too happy about it."

Gibbs snorted, "That's a damn shame."

The sedans pulled up and they piled in, glad to get back out of the cold. Carter and O'Brien were again driving, Gibbs shotgun with Carter, Cassie and the prisoner in the back seat, now with her feet also shackled so she couldn't kick, Andrus and O'Brien in the tail car. Quickly they were on their way and Gibbs gave a discreet nod to the Marine officer he spotted as the man gave a stand down gesture to his invisible soldiers.

Luck was with them on the trip back to the Navy Yard, both weather and traffic cooperating for once. As they moved through the Gate and aboard the Yard, the prisoner started squirming. Cassie wrinkled her nose, the flight hadn't been all that long but the prisoner had refused a restroom break before they left, sheer contrariness Cassie guessed, and there were no facilities on board the cargo plane. She rolled her eyes at Gibbs who was carefully watching Stacevyko in the mirror. His only comment was that there were plenty more orange jumpsuits and he guessed they'd need to have the car cleaned rather thoroughly. Then he muttered something about DNA under his breath and Cassie had to bite her tongue to keep from laughing. She'd forgotten about his dry humor.

Pulling into the evidence garage, three more agents were there to retrieve the prisoner from the car. As he climbed out, Gibbs spoke to the lead "She had an accident in the car, she'll need a trip to the open air restroom and another jumpsuit." Stacevyko's small eyes widened at the mention of an "open air" restroom, Cassie told her it was one designed for prisoners, there were no doors on the stalls, she and the other female agent would escort her.

They left the shackles, cuffs and arm chain on, leading her first to the prisoners' restroom, only releasing the armaments once inside and when two more female agents arrived with a long john top and the replacement jumpsuit. Once she had relieved herself and put the dry and clean clothes on, the cuffs, chain and shackle were re-attached and they continued toward the booking area.

The other agents took charge, leaving Cassie to continue upstairs to the nice warm squad room. She had been surprised not to see DiNozzo and David at the airfield, she knew Tim wouldn't be around, but thought the others would be. She was again surprised to find the bullpen empty. As Gibbs led the group including the prisoner out from the elevator, he turned to the bullpen, letting the guards do their jobs. With their fear of losing the prisoner to the FBI or DHS tonight, he wouldn't let her stew for long, but he had some questions for Cassie.

She'd found a sweater of Ziva's, had pulled it on and was looking for socks when Gibbs walked in with her Senior. Andrus was surprised at her casual borrow of someone else's sweater, usually his boss was rather…formal. Gibbs just shook his head. "It is good to see you, Cassie" and the older man gave her a strong hug. She pulled back, "Uh huh, a hug? Who is she, Gibbs, another redhead?" She gasped, "You didn't get married again, did you?"

Gibbs said, "No, better than that, but can't tell you now. Maybe next week. Got some questions for you two before I head on in there. You said she was yelling and spitting. Was the yelling in English?"

Andrus shook his head, "Some of it, most of it was in Russian, I believe."

"Did you recognize anything she said, either in English or Russian?"

Chuckles from both agents. "Nope, but our poor Probie got a wad full in his hair."

Gibbs grimaced, "Well, he's a Marine, Wilson will live through that."

"He sure will, Gibbs, he survived a week with you and your team, after all!"

"Did a damn good job, too, Yates! So Stacevyko hasn't said anything intelligible?"

"Just the screaming and the spitting and then I'm afraid the duct tape made its debut."

Gibbs snorted. "You guys sticking around or you heading out to your hotel? Vance assign you a sedan or you need a lift?"

"Oh no, I want to see this Interrogation, I'm not going anywhere."

"Ok, make sure you have your badges and weapons on you, in case the Feebs storm in and try to arrest the whole building."

Even Cassie's eyes popped at that. "Gibbs!"

"Not kidding, Cassie, this has been hell week courtesy of the FBI, nothing they do would surprise me now."

Andrus looked at his boss, what the heck was this all about? He knew it was a murder from a cold case, but that's all. Boss hadn't shared any more than that.


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter 21

Gibbs straightened and rotated his shoulders, then without another word headed for the corridor. Cassie and Andrus trailed behind him, only to see their Director, whom Andrus had only met once before, with his hand on the door of the Interrogation room, speaking quietly to Gibbs. Each nodded once, no doubt, Andrus thought, getting their game plan together. Vance looked up at the two of them, gave them a smile and thanked them for their good work. Gibbs had already thanked Cassie, much to her surprise, as they'd moved the prisoner in the evidence garage. This night had surely been full of surprises. Now both men disappeared into the room and Andrus held the door to Observation open for his boss.

Walking in, Gibbs noticed the guards had apparently started to remove the duct tape but must have slapped it back on since there was moisture on the table. Pointing to it, he asked the prisoner, "You do that?" Her small piggy eyes narrowed and she nodded. He leaned in, "Unless you stop doing that, you're going to live the rest your life with duct tape or a muzzle, is that what you want?"

Eyes full of hate glared at him. He shrugged and stepped behind the prisoner, "You care if we leave it on, Leon? I'm thinking we don't need to hear her talk, we have all the evidence we need and she's been read her rights."

"That's true, but in reality that doesn't really matter, she has no rights, she's a spy as well as a murderer, she's going straight to Gitmo."

"Ok, well, I guess we'll just read the charges then, shall we?"

"Works for me."

"Svetlana Stacevyko, also known as Natalie Ivanov and Natalie McGee, you are charged with the 1986 pre-mediated hit and run murders of U.S. Navy Commander Daniel McGee and his minor child, Patrick McGee. Further, you are charged with child endangerment, neglect and child abuse in the 1992 beatings of Timothy and Patrick McGee. Additional charges include fraudulent claims to the US Navy and ABC Life Insurance Company for amounts over $500,000 each, which earn you additional felony counts. You are also charged with covert operations, i.e., spying for not one but two foreign governments on American soil and forging false documents: passport, marriage certificate and citizenship papers. You are also charged with claiming false citizenship, supposedly gained through a phony marriage with Commander McGee."

"Normally, I would ask you if you have anything to say, but since you insist of perpetuating your wild pig act, guess that won't be necessary."

Vance pulled a chair out, across and down a bit from the prisoner, staying out of spitting range. Gibbs returned to his spot behind the prisoner, now noticing a certain trembling in her feet. Good, she was starting to break. She tried to speak to Vance from behind the duct tape.

"Can't understand you with that tape. Would you like a pencil and paper, oh sorry guess not, your hands and arms are shackled."

Gibbs leaned down and whispered in her ear in Russian, "We've got you for all counts, have all the evidence we need so we don't need to hear you talk. You still think you want to live the rest of your life with that duct tape on your mouth?"

Stacevyko yelled as best she could behind the tape, then sat back, well tried to sit back, between the uncomfortable chair and her chains, she didn't get very far. She looked at Vance, a pleading look in her eyes. Gibbs noticed her feet and legs were trembling even more; yep she was ready. He gave a little nod to his boss.

"Did you want something, Prisoner?"

The woman nodded and touched her shoulder towards her mouth.

"Does that mean you're ready to cooperate, no spitting or screaming?" She nodded.

"Ok, I guess she's ready to be civilized, wait a minute, let me get ready."

Vance pulled the box of tissues towards him, giving her a mocking glance. She made a sound deep in her throat, but Gibbs knew they had her. She may have been a spy, but she apparently flunked Interrogation 101; she certainly fell apart easily enough. Then again, he mused, she'd had a nice comfortable life on the proceeds of the Navy death benefits and the life insurance. Obviously, she'd gotten a bit soft and much older than when she was trained in covert life. He wondered how she had ever managed to find a second employer. Must talk a good game. Abruptly taking her chin and turning her head toward him, he ripped off the duct tape.

After her scream had died down, Gibbs smiled down at her, the smile of a predator who had just taken its first bite, "It was going to hurt however we did it, might as well get it over with."

Vance cleared his throat. "Now, what is it you wanted to say?"

"The evidence, I do not believe that you have any evidence. My husband and stepson were killed in a horrible accident 20 years ago. I lost everything that day, the money was nothing."

Gibbs leaned in and said to her, in Russian, "That was a pretty poor performance, I'm sure you can do better than that." Outraged, she cursed him in Russian and he laughed at her and told her to speak in English so that both agents could understand her.

"You know nothing of my life with the McGees, the older one, Timothy, he was such a brat, too smart for his own good and his brother followed his every word. And the little girl, she was just as bad, a horrible little bitch."

"Really? Tell us, how old was this little girl when you murdered her father and brother?"

"Three, she was three and I DID NOT MURDER THEM. You cannot have proof, it is impossible."

"I see, well that's interesting and tell me, what happened to the two McGee children you did not murder?"

"Timothy was badly injured in the accident, he died soon after."

"Oh that's too bad. And the little girl?"

"I sent her away."

"Where did you send her to, a school, relatives…where?"

"Uh…to a school, yes a school."

"And where is she now?" Gibbs noticed her feet were now literally dancing on the floor she was so nervous. He signaled Vance, time to close in.

"Dead. She disappeared when her brother died in a knife fight when he was 12, the stupid idiot. The little girl disappeared after that."

" Who died in the knife fight? Her brother? I thought Patrick died when you used your car to hit the station wagon at such an angle that the propane the commander had in the back exploded. Also, I thought Timothy was thrown through the rear passenger window, later dying of his head injuries and multiple broken bones, after being in a coma at Children's Hospital in Oakland for a few days. The McGees only had the two boys, so where did this third brother come from? A knife fight, at the school? I don't understand."

"No, no, he, I don't know, it was Timothy, all right, it was Timothy who died in the knife fight. He did not die of his injuries from the car; I only wished it. The fight was not at the school, it was after classes, in the evening."

"And how do you know this?"

"Because I…" she shut her mouth.

"I see, not feeling like sharing that information. Well, that's all right because we already have that information. Timothy was not involved in a knife fight; according to the dozen witnesses we interviewed, he was attacked while helping serve dinner at the homeless shelter he and Sarah were forced to live in after you abandoned them. OH, by the way, that's two, no three more charges against you, 2 charges of abandoning a minor, reckless endangerment, oh my, that's up to 3 counts of that, and conspiracy to murder a minor. That one brings you automatic death penalty, and you're up on at least two counts. We'll have to see if we can add to that as we find out what happened to little Sarah."

Vance leaned forward, his turn. "Why did you do it? What possible reason could you have for killing those children? Even after you'd murdered their father and brother, drove them away from their home, took everything away from them and then still paid someone to murder the boy. You were their guardian, their father trusted you with their lives. Why?"

"He was too smart. He knew things, too many things. I saw him writing in those books, but …" She swore in Russian, "I could never find them. And I didn't want to take care of them for the rest of my life."

"I see and what prompted the original murders?"

"I did not… Очень хорошо, у вас win." Her shoulders slumped, "Dan came to me and said he wanted out of the marriage, said it had been a huge mistake. I could not allow him to find out the marriage was not real, and I was afraid the boy would tell him about my phone calls and packages; if we were no longer married, I could be deported or disco.." Again, she stopped speaking.

"Or discovered as a covert operative for the Soviet Union, is that it?" She turned her head away and then nodded.

"Well, that's all right, you did that yourself when you tried to sell the FBI a 'bill of goods' recently. It was not difficult to find out who your new employer was. What happened, did you spend all your blood money?" There was no response from the prisoner.

"She's not talking, Leon, let's see what she has to say about her life as a spy". The woman visibly flinched and Gibbs, still standing behind her, gave Vance a hooded look, ready to swoop.

"Who are your current employers?" She told them, as they had suspected it was a Middle Eastern radical group.

"That clears the runway for your trip to Guantanamo Bay; confirms you working with a terrorist group. Maybe we can get you an upgrade to, I don't know, a semi-private cell, if you give us something to work with."

She looked up, a glint of hope in her eyes. "I did not tell you the whole truth about Timothy's death. When he died in that knife fight, he was replaced by a young sleeper agent who took his identity. That is why the girl had to disappear, she would have known." Gibbs wasn't sure what made him feel sicker, the repetition of her lie using a slightly different scenario, or that she would have done that to Sarah, would have killed a 6 year old without any thought.

"Ok, that was how long ago, nearly 20 years? That's not going to do much toward getting you that semi-private room. But that's ok, if you want to live in an open barracks with thirty other women, only being allowed outside once a day, that's fine by me. What would pique my interest is what you've done for your current employers." Vance's calmly responded to her story.

Her shoulders slumped. "They will find me and kill me."

Gibbs leaned in just enough to make her jump and said, "That's just tough, isn't it? Didn't they teach you that in spy school? Oh, but that was so many years ago now you might not remember."

She sighed, "All right, I will tell you." And she did, giving them names of her contacts, the intel she'd passed, dates and locations. She also told them what information she'd passed to the Soviet Union before the collapse in 1991. She paused, her eyes resuming their sly cunning look. "That's all I have."

"No, I don't think it is. I think you have this written down somewhere, in a log or a notebook, maybe on a computer?"

She shook her head, "No, no computer, too hard to learn and too easy to break into. It's a notebook, like that one, only bigger." She pointed to Gibbs slim pocket sized paper notebook, "There are 30 of them."

"Where?"

"In my house."

"In Tampa?"

"Yes."

"Where in the house?" She told them, it was old-fashioned but still worked well. The Tampa team had had orders to arrest, not to search the house, now they would go back to search.

Vance sent a text to Agent Andrus, figuring Cassie was already on the phone with her Probie. She was, ordering Wilson to take two agents and search Stacevyko's house, specifically the three spots where the woman said she'd hidden her notebooks. Her last order to Wilson was to report to her or Andrus as soon as he'd located the notebooks. Dwayne agreed; a little excited to be back in on the case again. Whatever case it was. Andrus had already texted another Team Leader, explaining the situation, the need for absolute discretion and received a text that the Team Leader understood and agreed to provide backup to Wilson. Andrus updated his boss and she texted Vance with the plan. Now they waited.

Vance and Gibbs looked at each other, knowing this was icing on the cake. They had captured this murderer, broken her and now had her covert opts information in hand from both of her employers. Vance gestured to Gibbs and they stepped outside Interrogation, well away from any possibility of Stacevyko being able to hear them.

"I'm calling SecNav, this is our collar; we're going to take the damn credit for ALL of it, Gibbs."

"Waiting for the notebooks?"

"I'm inclined not to. I'll tell SecNav the information she's given us is not verified but I also strongly suspect the FBI has at least some of the information."

"Sounds good to me, Leon. Whoever's coming for her is later than I thought they'd be, your plan obviously worked!"

"Huh, well hold off on the kudos until you see us being congratulated on bringing down a murdering spy!"

Vance called Secretary of the Navy Davenport and updated him with the results of their own covert operation. Gibbs heard enough to know the old Admiral was excited to hear the news. When Vance ended the call, he turned to his Lead Agent. "I have my orders, to verify the notebooks and place her in our lockup. It's our collar, all of it."

Gibbs nodded, relieved this had gone well but also thinking of the lives this bitch, what had Ziva called her, a Hebrew word, oh yeah, zona, the lives this zona had destroyed, mostly in an effort to maintain her comfortable American life. None of the intel she'd passed seemed important enough to have killed the McGees. No, that was to prevent her deportation. She had no loyalty, no scruples, morals or ethics, no friends, she had murdered the only family she had, she had nothing. A comfortable house, big screen TV and maybe a decent car. At what price? He wondered idly what else they would find she'd done, were there other bodies strewn in her wake? Saying this aloud to Vance, the two looked at each other and as one, turned back into Interrogation.

"All right, now where we were? Ah, waiting for confirmation of the notebooks and what information they contain. What else have you done, Svetlana Stacevyko? Who else got in your way, whom else have you killed?"

"Why should I tell you, I have given you all the information you wanted." A sullen response or was it sheer exhaustion?

"And now we want more. Are there others you have killed? It's odd, really, because for years you seemed to be an upstanding member of your church, that would be the Russian Orthodox, yes, so it would seem you had a conscience or some sort of emotion at some point in your life."

The woman looked towards the ceiling. After a few long minutes, she started talking again. "There are 3 others. One in Texas, in Houston, he was a lover who became suspicious, I believed he was an undercover agent. One in Bayopolis, a contact who…disrespected me, and the last in New York City. He was…," the woman sighed, deeply, "my confessor, a priest. I confessed all to him, and then I was afraid he would break his vow, so I…silenced him."

"What does that mean?"

"I killed him, YES, I KILLED MY PRIEST, I WILL BURN IN HELL NOW, there is no hope." She looked up at them, "That is all, I only had the 2 employers and that is all the information I passed and…the people I have killed."

"We'll need names of the victims, the date they died and the locations where the bodies are buried."

"Those…those are all in my notebooks."

"Very well, we'll wait until we have the notebooks."

"What, how long will that take? I have…what do you call it…she half turned to Gibbs, again standing behind her and spoke in Russian. Gibbs replied, "Claustrophobia."

"Ah yes, I have that, I cannot remain in this room much longer, it is too small, too airless."

"Then give us the information we need for your 3 other victims."

"Bah, very well." She proceeded with the names, dates of death and the locations where the bodies are buried.

Gibbs, wishing very much for his own team to be on this, looked at Vance, who gave him an understanding nod. Slipping out of the room, he called DiNozzo.

"Boss, what's going on, it's been so long, we were really getting worried!"

"We, DiNozzo?"

"Yeah, I'm with Tim and Ziva, at their place."

"Good, that's good, I'm glad. Got some work for you to do. Want to put me on speaker?" He waited for a second, "We broke her, guys, got everything we expected plus more and SecNav has already announced the arrest, she's ours. The whole kit and caboodle, she's our bust. And she's going to Gitmo for the rest of her miserable life." He paused as his team cheered. "Yeah, good work, all of you! Tony, take me off speaker…Ok, we have three other murder victims, have the locations and general description of them, need you to come in and start coordinating the searches, I want those bodies found and shipped here. Just you, DiNozzo, for now. She believes Tim and Sarah are dead, like to leave it that way; I guess she hasn't caught onto the fact we haven't charged her for their deaths. Anyway, I'd just as soon you get this started tonight, Tony. Don't have to work all night at it, but get it in motion."

"Got it, Boss, on my way." Gibbs disconnected, satisfied that his team was back in action. Tim and Ziva could jump in tomorrow as soon as the prisoner was out of the building. He turned but this time he headed for Observation, poking his head in and finding Cassie on the phone with what sounded like Wilson.

"That's great, Dwayne, how many?"

"40, 10 more than she said."

"Ok, get them back to the office, and courier them up here to Agent Gibbs tomorrow morning. Hold on, Gibbs is right here."

"Wilson, just wanted to say great job tonight, you and your team." Gibbs handed the phone back to Cassie and gave her the smirk that was almost a smile.

"All of you," he turned to include Andrus, "Thank you, don't say it often, but you all surely deserve it." He left the room, leaving a stunned Agent Yates behind him. She turned to Andrus – and the tech, "Did that just happen?"

The tech's jaw was still in dropped position, he shut it and tried to form words, finally…"Yes Agent Yates, I saw it, I heard it, Leroy Jethro Gibbs just thanked you, publicly and handed out a compliment to your agent on the phone."

"Have things changed around here that much?"

"No ma'am, I've worked here 10 years and I've never seen or heard of him thanking anyone before."

Andrus laughed, "Come on, he can't be that bad!" Cassie and the tech just looked at him and shook their heads.

Gibbs re-entered Interrogation to find Vance still questioning their prisoner. When Leon looked at him, Gibbs leaned over and whispered, "Wilson found all the notebooks, 40, not 30."

Vance nodded, and then continued with his question, "Do you have any regrets, besides the priest?"

"Only the little one, Sarah. I wished I could have kept her with me, but then I would have had to kill her brother there in the house, in San Leandro," Seeing their questioning looks she added, "The house I rented after leaving the base in Alameda, the one I brought the boy to when he left the hospital. I did not have the stomach to kill him directly and there were too many people around. Sarah was already attracting attention with her cries for Patrick and Timothy; I could not risk more. So I sent them both away, to their fates."

"Which you've already told us you arranged."

"Yes, it is as I said."

"You told us Sarah disappeared after the knife fight. What really happened to her?"

"The man I paid to kill Timothy took her; he told me he strangled her. I wept for that one, but there was no other way for me to be safe."

"Do you have anything else to add, any more crimes?"

"No, that is all. I am empty now. Do with me what you will." The two men looked at each other. It was such a melodramatic statement; if the situation hadn't been so serious, her crimes so close to home, either might have laughed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The phrase "Очень хорошо, у вас win" means 'very well, you win." in Russian, if the online translation site is correct.


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter 22

Shaking his head, Vance had one last comment. "The information you've given us is being prepared as a statement that you will need to sign."

"And if I don't?"

"Then I guess you'll have to live out your life here in this room, shackled to the chair, eating and drinking only what we bring you and wearing only that orange jumpsuit." She glared and muttered at him in her native language. Gibbs spoke sharply and she quieted.

"I will sign."

Both men exited the room. There was nothing more for them to do with her. The statement was being prepared by a late shift Legal employee; she would bring it to Gibbs for signature as soon as it was ready. Once that was done, the prisoner would be escorted to their lockup for the night. The next flight to Gitmo was at 0500 Friday and while Gibbs had been speaking with Cassie's and his teams, Vance made the arrangements.

When the Commandant of the USMC heard this prisoner was responsible for the deaths of a Naval officer and his children, he told SecNav his people would pick her up at NCIS in an armored Humvee and deliver her to the airfield for transportation. NCIS had done its job, and done it well, the Marines would now assume responsibility. Gibbs, hearing that, knew Tim would be appreciative. He stretched, it had been a long night after a very long day in a very long week and yet it was only 2300. Vance joined him in the walk down the hall, splitting as the Director took the elevator upstairs and the Team Leader headed to his home away from home. Tony was there already, on the phone with someone arranging for a body search.

He hung up just as Gibbs stopped in front of his desk, "Got a team set up for the victim in Houston, Boss. How's it going here?"

"We're done, Tony, just waiting for the statement. She's on a flight to Gitmo at 0500 – Marines are picking her up here."

Cassie and Andrus wandered back into the bullpen and Gibbs introduced Tony to his fellow Senior Field Agent.

"I heard you guys did really good work today and tonight, Boss doesn't say that too often, must have been spectacular!"

"Just doing our jobs, Agent DiNozzo."

"Tony, please. We're related by prisoner – and Dwayne, come to think of it."

Andrus laughed, he was beginning to understand these were rather unusual people and he should just go with the flow. As they stood chatting, Tony happened to see the Director, watching from the catwalk, smiling at them. When the others looked up, Vance linked his hands and raised his arms in a victory salute, then continued to his office.

As they watched, the elevator dinged and the Legal staff member approached with Stacevyko's statement in her hand. Gibbs, smiling, took it from her, thanking her for her speediness. "I heard that was the trash that caused Agent McGee trouble, Agent Gibbs; don't want her here any longer than she has to be."

Gibbs smirked and took the statement into the prisoner for her signature. When he returned, he handed it to the analyst who made several copies and then departed with the original for their files. Rolling his shoulders again, Gibbs watched as no fewer than four NCIS agents escorted his son's stepmother, well phony stepmother and family killer, to the elevator and lockup. After that finale to the evening's drama, Cassie and Andrus said their goodbyes and departed for their hotel and their own early morning flight home. DiNozzo got back on his phone and soon had all three body searches set up. As he hung up from his last call, he let loose a huge yawn and Gibbs laughed at him.

"Come on, DiNozzo, you got your work done and I'm all done in, let's get out of here for a few hours."

"Ok boss, uh…you gonna call Tim tonight? He's all over the place – anxious, relieved, angry with things."

"About what we expected then?"

"Yeah. Glad Ziva's with him, never thought I'd say this, but they're good together."

"Good Tony, I think so too. Yeah, I'll call him when I get home. If I stay here much longer I'll have to sleep here and I want my own bed tonight, been a helluva week."

"Yeah, but we pulled it out, Boss, cleared Probie and found his family's murderer, busted her and did the Feeb's job for them."

"Not sure, DiNozzo; I don't think we did for them, starting to think it's more like they gave us the case."

"Gotcha Boss." The two reached the parking garage and split to their own cars, Gibbs belatedly remembering his car was in the back, the last row against the far wall.

He quickly drove home and was on his cell with his son before he turned the engine off.

"Tim, how are you doing, son?"

"Hi Dad! ME? I'm fine, just worried about you. How did it go, anything more?"

"Nothing more after the three extra bodies, the searches for them will start tomorrow."

"And the FBI didn't show up at all?"

"No, not a peep out of them or anyone else. I half expected Trent Kort to pop out of the bushes at the airfield but security was even tighter than usual. Although for all I know the Bureau could have been on the way and turned back when Vance got the go-ahead from SecNav. They might have thought showing up after that would create even more tension between the two agencies…their own damn fault. Before I left the office, I got a text from Vance saying he'd contacted Director Mueller with the news. And he's drafted a news release for immediate release, probably out there already; DiNozzo's going to be happy about that, for once the media won't call us "another federal agency". We cleaned up, Tim; I don't understand why Fornell or one of his buddies didn't move on Stacevyko after we found her, but she's ours, the whole thing. Don't know how you feel about that, kiddo, that your misery resulted in the takedown of a spy and murderer, helluva price to pay."

"I don't know how I feel about that either, going to have to let it sink in." Tim paused, "Dad, is there any way that you could see Fornell bringing us the case this way on purpose? I mean, maybe for some reason they couldn't put it together but realized they had another source when she targeted me?"

"Been wondering about that myself, Tim. Not sure we'll ever know, unless Fornell opens up at some point."

"Seems weird now, doesn't it, all our worries about security and the other agencies lurking to kidnap the suspect, Ziva and me staying out of it."

"That's probably the only part that wasn't overkill, Tim. She believed you and Sarah dead after that knife attack in Bayopolis and she can keep on believing that for the rest of her life. Glad your books are under a pen name."

"Yeah, makes it a little easier. She tell you who did it?"

"Not directly, she let slip something later, about a contact that disrespected her, think that might have been the one."

"And he supposedly killed Sarah too?"

"Yep."

"Too hinky."

"Couldn't agree with you more, Timson."

"New nickname?"

"Yeah, I was going to try Tishka, but that's Timothy in Russian, didn't think you'd want any reminders! I have another one in case Timmy tries to pop out."

"What's that?"

"Timiny."

"Huh, kind of like that, as long as Tony doesn't make it Jiminy…you know Jiminy Cricket."

Gibbs snorted, "You two! Well then, just start calling him Tiny; that should take care of it pretty fast."

"Um Dad, I ah, told Ziva tonight, after Tony left."

"That's great, son, was hoping you'd do that! How'd she do with the news?"

"Shocked, sat there with a funny look on her face, you know those cartoons where a character makes a perfect "O" with their mouth? She was doing that, it was so good and lasted so long, I snapped a shot on my phone."

"And now?"

"She's fine, now, happy for us, says she's your daughter-in-law."

"What? Something you haven't told me yet?"

"No Dad, think she was just meaning that now she can't very well say you're her dad when you're my dad too. Just sounds weird."

"Yeah, guess so."

"So, Boss, can we come into work tomorrow?"

"Yes, Special Agent McGee, report in at 0700. Hey, when the Commandant heard who our new resident was for Gitmo, and what she'd done, he told Vance we'd done our job and done it well, we needed to let his people handle her transport, door to door. She's on the 0500 flight in the morning, they'll pick her up at 0400 from NCIS. So yeah, all clear by 0700, but no earlier than 0600."

"Yes Boss, and we'll bring breakfast for everyone. And uh, Dad?"

"Yes son, I'm going to call your grandfather tomorrow, haven't forgotten."

He could imagine the grin as he heard it in his son's voice, "Thanks Pops."

"HEY!"

"Don't like that?"

"Not sure, sounds old."

"Ok, how about Poppy?"

"Hmm, better than Pops – or Pa."

"Nah, Pa is DiNozzo's name for you."

"You all have different 'dad' names for me?"

"Yeah, well for Ziva it's Aba; Abby sticks with Gibbs."

"Well, you're all mine, in various ways, so it's ok if I say I think you're all crazy."

Tim huffed a laugh, "Hmm, I've got a great line for that, Dad, but considering how late it is and how tired you must be, I think I'll save it."

Gibbs opened his mouth and a yawn emerged, making his kid laugh even more. "Guess that told me, ha."

"Think you'll sleep ok tonight, Tim-o-mine?"

"Wow, that's really creative. Yep, going to sleep really well tonight, the threat's over, all of it, you're safe, got my girl with me, going to sleep like a baby, Poppy, you?"

"Yep and I think I'd better get to it before I just fall over. 'Night son, love you."

"Night Daddy, love you back." Tim leaned back against his pillow, feeling Ziva's arms around him. Turning his face to her, she smiled as she saw the tears streaming down his face. "Ah love, those are happy tears, yes?"

"Yeah, Zee, I just…just never dreamt that life could be so good, especially after the way this all started. I'm a little afraid that…"

"Shush, no Timothy, do not doubt. It is your time; yours and your father, both of you have suffered enough. Enjoy this." Tim answered her with a kiss that turned passionate as they celebrated their love.


	23. Chapter 23

Chapter 23

As they readied themselves for work on Friday, Tim sent texts to both Sarah and Rob, inviting them for a family brunch on Saturday. He knew Rob would be working Friday evening and remembered Sarah talking last week about a new boyfriend; last week, that felt like a year ago. Anyway, Sarah would probably be out with the new guy, Ethan, no, Ty, whatever his name was, on Friday night. He thought about asking Gibbs too, but decided to tell his siblings first and let them absorb the news for a bit. They may not be a traditional family, but he is the head of it and this news would affect them all. Tim laughed to himself, knowing Gibbs, his mind supplied the word DAD loud and clear, the man would consider Sarah, Rob and Geordie as his kids too.

When he emerged from his shower, Ziva, just finishing dressing, told him Gibbs had called and invited them for dinner that night. She had accepted, knowing they had no plans. Gibbs had, she said, called his father this morning; Tim looked at the clock in disbelief, it was now just 0545! Jackson wanted a chance to speak with his new grandson.

Tim laughed, "Zee, I bet you anything he'll be there tonight, it's a short flight."

"And that is ok with you?"

"It's more than ok, it's great, hon; I can't wait to meet him again, this time as my grandfather. I know I also have a grandmother but I don't remember her at all."

She blinked and smiled. "I never knew my grandparents either; Eli's parents died shortly after he was born and my mother's in an attack the year before she and Eli married."

Tim sobered as he took Ziva into his arms, "Sometimes I forget how you grew up, under the constant threat of extinction, just for your existence – and your beliefs. How long your family has struggled."

"I think you have a closer understanding than most, Tim, with your own experiences. To a very small degree, perhaps even just the concept, I can compare the constant vigilance you have spoken of in the camp, against attacks, theft and violence, to the Israeli experience."

"Zee, I wish…well you know what I wish."

"I do, but this is not the time to have that discussion again; we are bringing breakfast for everyone, yes?"

"Right, we'd better get moving. I'll call in our order if you'll get our weapons out of the safe." The order placed at their favorite bakery, the two were soon warming up in the Porsche. They traveled towards the Navy Yard, and took an exit one shy of the Navy Yard, parking within a block of the bakery. Their order was ready, so they were on their way again in minutes and reached the bullpen fifteen minutes early.

Gibbs' coat was in his workstation, so he was here, somewhere. Leaving the breakfast treats in their warm wrappings, Tim distributed the hot beverages. Coffee for Gibbs, tea for Zee, hot chocolate for DiNozzo and his own coffee, black with some sweetener. Their boss arrived from somewhere, oddly enough with a leaf on the sleeve of his jacket. Ziva picked it off and handed it to him with a smile. "Thanks Zeevers. Took some roses down to Ginger."

Tim started to ask why, figured it out and gave him a big smile. "That was thoughtful, Boss. Is she here next week or is Abby back?"

"Ducky said Abby's taking a few days off after the conference, so Ginger will be here next week."

Tim stared when the elevator dinged and Tony bounced out, humming loudly and doing a little dance step.

"Wow, Tony, glad we didn't get you coffee this morning, you're already 'revved' up!"

"I am, McTim! It's Friday and we have a happy ending to the week; that is unless we get a call out. Boss?"

"Still off rotation, guys, we have those searches today and attack the paperwork for Stacevyko."

"Boss, can I help with that? Can I do the paperwork or help Tony with the searches or maybe both? Tired of being benched."

"You can help with all of it, but you can't do the reports on your laptop, same rules apply for the paperwork as the case."

Gibbs spoke softly into his coffee cup, "I also told Carter you'd help him, working your magic on his latest case."

Tim's face lit up, he was back, allowed to be useful again. "Ok, Boss, thanks!"

Gibbs gave him a look that clearly said 'you're insane', shook his head and attacked his own stack.

With Tim doing their reports for them, trading laptops this time with Ziva, the group made quick work of the myriad of forms and reports common to law enforcement and government agencies. Tony had him handle one of the searches for Svetlana's victims as the other two were being conducted at the same time, although in different areas of the country. Tony cheered when first one body and then the second were found. They would be shipped to NCIS and waiting for Ducky and Jimmy on Monday.

That meant two families who would get some closure and two cold cases to close…somewhere, but not until the MEs finished. It was just a matter of notifying the correct law enforcement entity. Thinking about the easiest way to do that, Tony went to the lab to consult with Ginger. While he was gone, the third search party found the remains of the priest killed by Stacevyko; Tim sent a text to Tony and started the reports on all three searches and results.

The day passed quickly, by 1600 everything was done, all the paperwork, the plane transporting Svetlana had landed at Gitmo; the bodies of her last three victims were en route to DC. It was over; they had successfully solved the McGee murders, three additional murders and taken down an enemy spy. NCIS was currently the golden child on Capitol Hill and with the media; Vance was thoroughly enjoying their brief moments of fame.

On the personal side, they had reunited their teammate with his family and although still unknown to some, had given Tim a new father and Gibbs a new son. The FBI put Tim through his own personal hell, although he knew it could have been, has been; a lot worse, but it was his team who found the evidence to prove his innocence. None of the successes had occurred because of the FBI's inquisition, but rather from the diligence of Tim's NCIS family in solving the murders of his family.

Ginger found the correct legal entities for all three of Svetlana's victims; Tony would start the notification process Monday after the autopsies were complete. Gibbs looked around, he was not done but then he was never done; there would be more files arriving and departing. His team's work week, however, was finished as far as the Team Leader was concerned.

Tim was doing something with his computer; Gibbs knew he did some clean up at the end of every work week. Tony had a stack of paper, he knew what that meant and Ziva was puttering around her desk, cleaning up her workspace. Before Tony could throw the first paper 'bomb', Gibbs surprised them by releasing them for the weekend. When all three stared dumbfounded at him, he smirked, "Go on, get - before I change my mind. My place Sunday - 1600."

No fools, they nearly ran to the elevator, Tim turning at the last minute and grinning at his dad. Gibbs sketched a subtle little salute to his son. Yeah, this was going to be fun, being a dad again, having a grown son. He was happy to see that grin, it was about time after all the pain, loss and hardship Tim had endured. He watched his boy, his heart proud but still hurting for him over the week's revelations, wondering at what price that grin had been forged.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Epilogue tomorrow and the following day, the first chapter of the next story in this 'verse.


	24. Chapter 24 Epilogue

Chapter 24 Epilogue

Weeks Later

After the service at the McGee family grave-site, Tim asked for a few minutes alone. He sat on one of the chairs and thought about the journey that had brought him here. It had all started one Monday when the FBI had appeared, stating they simply wanted a 'friendly conversation' with him. It had ended here in California, with the re-interring of the caskets of his mother, adoptive father and brother. In between, he had learned how much his co-workers cared about him, connected with relatives he had not known he had, started to give up the anger and bitterness that had been with him since the day of the wreck, and let go of the fear of further abandonment that had also haunted him all these years. In the place of anger, bitterness and fear he had found only acceptance and love: friendship, familial, paternal and romantic.

He turned to look at the group behind him and shook his head. With the exception of retired Agent Richards, they were all family. The elderly man had tears in his eyes when he met Tim and Sarah and had given them both a strong hug; Tim figured there was some healing being done there too. It was hard to believe this crowd was his family, by blood and by choice. Just weeks ago and for most of his life, his entire family had consisted of Sarah, Rob and Geordie. Now he had two grandmothers; along with his Grandmother Maisie Hubbard, Commander McGee's mother Penny had surfaced shortly after he met his uncle and godfather. He hadn't really sorted them out until now; along with Sarah, Rob, Geordie, and Ziva, he had gained two grandmothers, his grandfather Jackson, Uncle Jim and his wife Claire, their children, his cousins, Callum and Ainsley, his godfather and godmother the Cranes, and Tony, Jimmy, Ducky and Abby. Of course, the best of everything that had come to him out of what had seemed a hopeless quagmire was his father. His tough-as-nails, stone face, glare-that-could-kill Marine boss who as his father cried with him, hugged him, ruffled his hair, slapped his head (some things hadn't changed!) and kissed him good night or goodbye whenever they parted.

It had been a tricky few weeks, with all their NCIS family adjusting to his newly discovered relationship with Gibbs. Tim was grateful that Gibbs met with Tony the day before the team dinner and told him of his new son. Tony had been astounded and genuinely happy for both his surrogate father and little brother. Although with his re-involvement with Wendy he might not have noticed any change in his own relationship with Gibbs, the older man was vigilant about continuing his surrogate parenting with Tony. When Tony did finally inform Gibbs that he and Wendy were dating again, Gibbs insisted the three of them have dinner together. He wanted to make sure Wendy was not just lonely or on the rebound and playing some game with his eldest. His fear was that Tony might be so happy to resume their relationship that he would overlook any clues as to her intent. Gibbs was never so glad to be wrong and he enjoyed the chance to get to know Wendy again. She seemed different in a good way; he thought she was more comfortable with herself. As for Tim and Tony, both had reached out to each other, had settled some things between them and if either would ever admit it, felt closer than before. Tim liked to think that he now had two older brothers.

Gibbs had also given a lot of thought to his long friendship with Ducky and their estrangement when the team had found out about Shannon and Kelly. After he left Tony's place that Saturday night, Gibbs called Ducky and went to see him with his, their news. And so it happened that by the time of the actual team dinner, Jimmy was the only one who still did not know and was truly surprised. Nevertheless, the others were very happy for father and son.

By the time that Sunday had rolled around, Tim had forgotten that he originally requested the dinner to answer questions about his life in Bayopolis. Surprisingly, Tony was not the one with the most questions; that honor belonged to Ducky who wanted to know just how they had managed. Luckily, Tim and the 'sibs' had spent plenty of time Saturday talking about their lives in the camp, so some of the less dramatic moments were fresh in his mind as well as some of the tougher times. He reflected that in those years, he hadn't had time to stop and think much about their situation; primarily because he was too busy just trying to keep them alive and working on his education. His goal from the first day at the camp was to get the education he needed to rise from their homeless situation to four walls and a roof over their heads rather than canvas; real beds to sleep on and food to eat every day, all day if they wanted.

Flashback Team Dinner:

After they'd eaten, the conversation died and glancing around, Tim decided no one wanted to be the first to ask him a question.

"Ok guys, you know what I've told you, the original plan for the dinner was so you could ask me questions. So ask, please, I'm here, you've met Sarah, you will meet Rob, you know we survived!"

Tony cleared his throat nervously, "Yeah, Probie, ok…why were you so nervous and green when we met you in Norfolk and during your first years with Gibbs? I mean you'd been on the street for all those years, but there was no hint."

Tim chuckled, "Thanks, I'll take that as a compliment, Tony. One of the things I learned was how to be a chameleon - to fit in with whomever I was with, or even to be invisible. Truth is, there were no guns in camp, I had never been close to a firearm, sure didn't know how to shoot one! Plus, Tony, you were a former cop; cops were not our friends at the shelter or the camp, so that made me especially nervous around you. Most of the rest of it was fear of discovery; that people would find out my past, my real fighting and defensive capabilities and I'd have to explain."

Tony nodded, "When Ziva tried to teach you and Lee how to throw a knife, you flubbed it…on purpose?"

"Yeah, I did. In reality, by our third week in the camp I could hit every target I threw at; had a shank." He turned to Jimmy, "That's a homemade knife, Jimmy."

Jimmy's eyes grew big, "Like in prison, that kind of shank?" At Tim's nod, he continued, "Did you ever have to use it?"

Tim cleared his throat, "Yeah, had to use it defensively to protect us, more than once." Thankfully, no one asked if he had struck anyone with the knife or had any questions about his having been stabbed when he was 12.

Ducky finally asked his question, "How on earth did you survive, Timothy? How did you manage to keep two toddlers and yourself fed and clothed?"

Tim had spent some time thinking this through, as he knew it was inevitable someone would ask. He had decided to tell them the truth, or parts of the truth. "We gathered bottles and cans for cash; went dumpster diving at fast food restaurants for leftovers, did the same at grocery stores for items past their 'sale by dates'; when we were really desperate, Sarah would use her little girl cuteness and beg. I tutored kids at school, did their homework for food or money – you'd be amazed at how much food a kid's allowance would buy, especially if I helped several kids or did their homework. And we had an angel, the school secretary. My first day of school I asked if I could leave our cases with her - the little ones were at a daycare next door - and we did that as long as one of us went to that school. When we'd get back to our tent at night, sometimes we'd find she'd put some food and occasionally clothes in our cases for us."

When they pressed him for more, he gave them more bits of truth, "Ok, yeah, there were a few times I was forced to steal from the local stores to keep us from starving or getting sick, but I kept a list of what I took and from where. By the time I graduated from MIT, I'd paid it all back and started a food fund at some of those stores." When he seemed worn out after this, the others quieted and he gave them a little more information, hoping to deflect them from more questions about how they'd survived.

"You asked me about my behavior in Norfolk and when I first started up here. My overall fear back then was that people would find out that I'd been a homeless kid and treat me like they had when I was in the camp. Not only that, but when I was in Norfolk, I was still raising two minor children, yeah I was their legal guardian by that time, but I still wasn't ready to answer any questions about them."

That stopped all conversation. Finally, Tony started to ask him something but stopped until Tim encouraged him to just ask. "Again, you were on the streets and couldn't have had a very good diet. So why were you overweight when we first met you?"

Tim laughed so that he wouldn't cry. "When I got the scholarships, Tony, first to Johns Hopkins and then later to MIT, it took us months before we could wrap our heads around the idea that we could eat when we were hungry, that we didn't have to scavenge anymore. After we finally realized it, we all went a bit overboard, me especially." In reality, he had been too thin when he started Johns Hopkins and the student clinic doctor had put him on a weight gain diet. He just hadn't stopped when he had finally gained the needed weight.

The final question came from Jimmy, "Weren't you overwhelmed and scared, I mean…with life on the street, raising two kids on your own, keeping them safe and struggling to survive?" Tim looked him straight in the eye as he answered, "Every single hour of every single day."

After that, his dad declared an end to the questions and Tim relaxed a little. However, having kept his past a secret for so long, Tim now did a 180 and invited the others to join him the next time he worked at the shelter or dropped by the camp with food and clothing.

He confessed that was how the Vance family had discovered his secret. Leon, Jackie and the children were voluntary servers for breakfast at the shelter one Saturday when Tim was there cooking and holding classes for the kids. He hadn't even seen them until he gathered the preschoolers to teach them some basics, how to tie their shoes, washing their hands, waiting in line, being polite, how to speak with adults, how to ask for help, how to share, even how to play, many things kids in homes would have been taught by their parents. He was cleaning the face of one little boy when he was tapped on the shoulder and turning, found a smiling Jackie Vance who wanted to know all about what he was doing there. She corralled her kids and the three of them helped the preschoolers learn what they needed to know before school started, while Leon spoke with some of the older children.

Now, Tim asked Ducky and Jimmy to consider holding a free medical clinic once a month; his brother Rob could assist them, however it would be some time before he was licensed to practice medicine. His dad had already been to the shelter with him, brought his toolbox and fixed the kitchen cabinet doors, askew since Tim's days there, and a few other things. Being Gibbs, he had surveyed the place and made a list of repairs he could easily do on his next few visits. Next week they would visit the camp; Gibbs wanted to spend the night there. He was determined to learn and experience as much of Tim's past as possible. All in all, Tim felt that night had been a success.

End Flashback

Looking back now, he saw that of all of them, Abby had the most difficulty adjusting. When she returned to NCIS after two weeks away, it was to a different 'vibe'. She had missed some big drama, she knew that, but instead of the team being upset and cranky, they all seemed happier and friendlier with each other, especially Gibbs. The others managed to get through her first day back without 'spilling the beans' as Gibbs had requested; he and Tim agreed he should be the one to tell Abby their news.

Tony was still on tap to fill her in about Tim and Ziva, which he did over lunch, skillfully segueing to his renewed contact with Wendy. That occupied Abby for the rest of the afternoon; over dinner, Gibbs told her about his son and much of what had transpired during that fateful week.

Abby missed much of the telling of the events as she tried to wrap her head around the father/son news. While she was happy for Gibbs, she was immediately jealous of Tim. Ramifications were whirling through her head: she was no longer the favorite, Tim could no longer be treated as her personal' slave'/backup plan, Tim and Ziva were together, had been for how long? And Gibbs was ok with that, she was no longer the favorite and what was he talking about now? Oh, this was bad, he was talking about the dog and the toothbrush and the class trip in Mexico, several other incidents where she might not exactly have told the truth to Gibbs about what happened. What did he mean the two of them were going to have a discussion with Vance? Man, she was never leaving her lab ever again.

In the time between their discovery and today, Tim and his dad had had a few difficult moments between them. However they had gotten through them and he had faith their relationship would continue to grow stronger and closer. Sarah and Rob had been spending time with Gibbs and Jackson and were beginning to warm to Gibbs' idea of adopting them. The three siblings had written Geordie and finally received word from him; he was happy for all of them and couldn't wait to meet their new dad. Tim and his father discussed changing his name to Gibbs; he decided to wait until his siblings were ready, then they would make the change together. It was how their little family unit had done things most of their lives and it had served them well.

Along with the adjustments at work and home, Tim, Sarah and Rob were cheerfully inundated with their newly discovered relatives; meeting them, learning more about the Hubbards and the McGees, especially about Dan and Lily and their all too short time together. Interestingly enough, just yesterday on the trip to San Francisco on the FBI's private jet, Tim noticed Ducky and his Grandmother Maisie taking quick glances at each other, with something like surprise and shock on Ducky's face. He didn't know Gram Maisie well enough yet to know her expressions, but shock would be his guess for her as well. Now, as he sits in the chair in front of the graves, out of the corner of his eye he sees Ducky and Maisie walking together amongst the tombstones and there is some emotion there. As far as he knows, they had only met on the trip out here, or had they? He shakes his head, another question for another day.

Then there was Ziva, his wonderful Ziva. She was always amazing, with him every step of the way, sensing when he was overwhelmed and helping him deal with all the newness sweeping down on him at once. She had also reached out to Wendy and the four of them had double dated a few times. The last time was a triple date as Jimmy and Breena had joined them for a rather lively dinner. He hoped someday soon Ziva would leave Mossad, become an American citizen, marry him and join NCIS as a Field Agent, although not necessarily in that order! It was a lot to hope for but he'd be willing to wait, he knew it would be worth every second.

On the case side, the day they'd written 'Closed' on the McGee file and moved it to Archives had been eminently satisfying. There was one disturbing last note to the case and to the FBI's interest, never divulged to them, regarding Svetlana. She had not lasted long at Gitmo; somehow word had gotten to her employers that she had given them up and with that, her death sentence was signed. The semi-private room she'd worked to earn proved to be her final undoing, murdered by a newly arrived cellmate, part of the very group she had 'ratted out'.

Gibbs and Fornell had met recently when both had been coerced by their Directors to attend a conference on Inter-Agency cooperation. Vance reported there hadn't been much talking between the two, but there hadn't been any sneering, snarling or shouting either. They all took that as a good sign. Prior to the conference, Tim had reinforced with his dad his wish that the friendship not be left withering on the ground on his account. He figured any two men who had survived marriage to Diane should be able to find a way to mend fences. He said that to his father at home the night before the conference, anticipating a head slap, but instead getting a thoughtful look and a hair ruffling.

Smiling at that memory, Tim rose, stood quietly for a moment, then assuming a military posture, he snapped off a smart salute to his adoptive father, blew a kiss to the mother he'd known for such a brief time and to the brother who had been his best friend. Standing back, he was encircled by the loving arms of Ziva, his father and his siblings, blood and chosen. As they headed for their transportation, he took one last look back. He was happy to be heading home, but wondered, for all of them, the years of neglect, mourning, loss, loneliness, what had it cost? At what price, love and family?

THE END

The sequel is called "Maisie" and the second one is currently called: "Oh Brother!" The third story will be more of a prequel; we'll visit the FBI and Fornell and see what happened to start this. See you tomorrow with the first chapter of "Maisie"!


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